Naz Majeed 

Watford winger Gerard Deulofeu was in the form of his life until rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during the Hornets’ shock 3-0 win over Liverpool in early March. Formerly of Everton and briefly AC Milan, the Spanish speedster started his career at Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, and this week he spoke to beIN SPORTS about the experience.

“I'm proud of that because I learned a lot from the academy of Barcelona, but all the people know that my time in the first team of Barcelona wasn’t the best, and that was my objective, and I didn’t make my objective realised, so I’m also proud to go to all the other countries like Italy, like England, like Spain, Sevilla, and take some of the experience, some of the best things in the dressing room. I'm now 26, I think I’m a completely different player than when I was young, and I'm really happy also, because my career is really good.”

Part of the Sevilla squad that won the 2014/15 Europa League, Deulofeu also picked up a La Liga winner’s medal with Barcelona in 2017/18, when the Catalan side cantered to the title, ending the season 14 points clear of their closest rivals Atletico Madrid. That was the only season where he made more than 5 appearances for the first team at the Nou Camp, amassing 17 in total, and Deulofeu was painfully aware of the pressure that was on him from the very beginning.

“I mean like, when you are young here in Barcelona, there are a lot of eyes, there are a lot of people that think you are going to be the next Iniesta, the next Messi. The stars of football and that's difficult, because the young players, what they have to do is do their job every day, with calm, with no pressure

"Because you are young, what you have to do is listen and work. Some people talk a lot, and make you, like a dream, like a... I don't know how to say it in English. That is what I mean.”

He may have lacked the words but like the career paths of likes of Bojan Krkic, Jeffren, or Cristian Tello speak for themselves. Expectations hang heavy in the air, and on the shoulders of these youngsters as they struggled to step out of the shadow of the giants before them.

Deulofeu was named the best player at the 2012 UEFA European U19 Championships that Spain won with a squad featuring Kepa Arrizabalaga, Álex Grimaldo (also a former La Masia graduate), and Paco Alcácer, during a time when he was starring for Barcelona’s B team, but made the difficult decision to leave Barcelona, finding his feet in England with Everton.

“It was difficult because you are playing really good in Barcelona B, the second team, and you know you have up above, like Messi, Neymar, Pedro, a lot of really good players, and you have to decide. You have to decide if you want to be patient and wait for your moment, being really young, or, if you want to go out and play more games for the experience.

"My type of character or attitude is, I don’t want to be on the bench. I want to play and it doesn’t matter if I’m in Barcelona, in Bayern Munich or if I'm in Watford. What I want to be is inside the pitch and be happy. Because you can be much, much happier in Watford because it's a little bit smaller team than Barcelona, and in Barcelona, without playing, you won't be happy, so that’s my character.”

And he has done well for Watford since signing for them in January 2018, including being the first-ever Watford player to record a Premier League hat-trick when he scored three against Cardiff City in the 2018/19 season.

So, like Adama Traore, Andre Onana, and Thiago Alcantara, leaving Barcelona has allowed Deulofeu to step up to the next level, now a full Spanish international, having already scored for La Roja against France in 2017.

Nevermore than a fringe player for the Blaugrana, he has now become a cult hero at Vicarage Road, and while the player himself has ruled out a return to Barcelona, his performances in the Premier League have demonstrated to his former club - and the world - that he may really have what it takes to compete with the very best.