Former Barcelona youngster forced to retire at 23 | OneFootball

A one-time member of the academy setup at La Liga giants Barcelona has been forced to call time on his days as a professional footballer.

The player in question comes in the form of Joan González.

Midfielder Joan for his part spent two years developing on the books of Barcelona, between 2019 and 2021.

From here, the Spaniard departed his home country on a permanent basis, to pen terms with Italian outfit Lecce.

Last summer, however, Joan’s career hit a major roadblock.

This came upon confirmation coming to the fore that the 23-year-old had been diagnosed with a rare heart condition, which kept him sidelined for the entirety of this past season.

And as much, this week, has culminted in Joan being forced into an altogether premature retirement.

Speaking during a press conference, as cited by Calciomercato, Lecce president Sticchi Damiani announced:

“In recent days we have had confirmation that the new check-up has not provided any changes compared to the previous one. Gonzalez will not be permanently fit. His pathology is a case study.”

Conor Laird – GSFN