Memphis Depay says he could have left Barcelona this summer as he had plenty of offers. The Dutchman claims he rejected the offers because he wanted to fight for his place in the team.
It was a roller-coaster summer for Barcelona as they manoeuvred their way through a turbulent transfer window, inhibited by a financial crisis. The Catalan giants made some buys this summer, much to the surprise of many fans. The question has been, how did they manage it?
Los Blaugrana sold portions of their assets to engineer their ability to make the signings they did and also register them for the season. While many remain surprised at their ability to stay within the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rule, the main issue is how they did it without trimming their squad as many expected.
Barcelona had hoped to move on several of their players with the sale of Frenkie de Jong to help cushion the effect of the crisis. One of the players expected to leave this summer but ended up remaining at the Nou Camp is Memphis Depay. The Dutchman has revealed why he opted to stay at Barcelona despite offers from several quarters.
Why Depay remained at Barcelona this summer
Memphis Depay is a talented player who has not lived up to his talent. The Dutch forward joined Barcelona under the reign of Ronald Koeman.
Injuries contributed to the problems faced by the Dutch international. Depay was also not helped by the arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, which saw him lose his place under new manager Xavi Hernandez.
There were expectations for his departure from the Nou Camp following the arrival of Robert Lewandowski in a big-money move from Bayern Munich. Depay lost his number nine shirt to the Poland international, spiking rumours that he would leave the club. There were also rumours of an interest in the Dutchman by Chelsea.
Despite fate aligning to work against him, Depay chose to remain at Barcelona when he could have gotten more game time playing elsewhere. In a chat with the media while on international duty, Memphis declared that he stayed to fight for a place in the new Barcelona setup.
Depay welcomes the competition
Depay said other clubs came for him, but he chose to remain at Barcelona because he wanted to prove he deserved to be at the club. The Dutchman said he wanted to fight for his chance at Barcelona.
Depay said he loves competition and does not work away from it. The former Lyon striker said he loves being at Barca and reminded everyone that he was the joint topscorer at Barca with Aubameyang last season.
Things have not gone to script for the Dutchman this season, and he has decried his current status. Depay said he is unhappy with his current playing time and wants to play a full 90 minutes whenever possible.
According to Depay, what he has gotten at the club this season is not enough. He started twice in La Liga in the last two weeks but is off after 60 minutes. The Dutch striker said he wants more. He claims there is more space in the final 25 minutes of a game, and he has the power to profit from it.
