Former Barcelona defender reflects on time at club – ‘For seven months Valverde did not speak to me’ | OneFootball

Yerry Mina earned the chance to wear the Barcelona shirt after showing a high level of performance at Palmeiras in Brazil.

The Colombian defender arrived at Camp Nou in January 2018 for €12.4 million and was seen as one of the centre-backs of the future.

However, things never really worked out for the centre-back in Barcelona, and only seven months after his arrival, he left to join Premier League club Everton.

Now aged 30, Mina, playing for Cagliari in Italy, gave an interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t SPORT), in which he reviewed his career, including the time he spent at Barcelona.

Mina opens up on Barcelona stint

Kicking off, Mina sensationally revealed that Real Madrid were also interested in signing him, but he wanted to play for Barcelona.

“Real Madrid were also there, but I wanted to play for Barça,” he reminisced.

Yerry Mina during his time at Barcelona. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

The Colombian was about to fulfil a dream in Barcelona, but luck was not on his side, as then-manager Ernesto Valverde did not seem to count on him at all.

“Ernesto Valverde only spoke to me on the first day. For seven months, he did not speak a word to me. Despite winning La Liga and the Copa del Rey, I played very little and I suffered a foot injury after a foul by Rakitic in training,” the Colombian said.

The Colombian defender stated that he felt the love of the Barcelona fans but he wanted to play regularly, which is why he ended up leaving the club.

“I wanted to leave Barcelona, although the fans loved me. But I wanted to play. Mourinho, who was at Manchester United, called me. He told me: ‘If you are fit, you will play.’ But I had to recover,” recalled Mina.

“Marco Silva convinced me to go to Everton. Those were five fantastic years. Carlo Ancelotti counted on me… We started well, but then five of us got injured and the level of the team dropped. But the Premier League is a beautiful league,” he stated.

Mina left Barcelona having made just six appearances in his seven months at the club, during which he managed to chalk up an assist to his name.