€15m Barcelona player reveals the moment he realized he could succeed at the club | OneFootball

Many FC Barcelona players are currently away on international duty. Fans will be hoping that there are no injury issues during these games for their country, which has been an area of concern in recent years.

One player who has received his first call-up to the Spain senior squad is Marc Casado. The call-up to La Roja’s squad is a testament to the incredible work that the 21-year-old has done and the form that he has shown since the start of the season.

To say that Casado has emerged as the engine room for Hansi Flick’s team would not be an overstatement. Game after game, he has been a beacon of consistency in the holding midfield role and he almost always seems to make the right decision on the ball.

It hasn’t always been plain sailing for Casado on his road here. Last season, any player in his position would have lost confidence, after failing to get minutes in the first-team under Xavi Hernandez despite being called up to the squad numerous times.

However, Casado has put his foot down and worked his way into Flick’s plans. As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, the €15m-rated player was quizzed on when he realized he could succeed at the club. He said:

“This preseason with Flick was when I made that ‘click’. I renewed because they told me that Flick wanted me in the squad, he wanted to see me, but it’s also true that the previous idea was to renew because I have always wanted to be linked to Barça.”

“The plan was to go out on loan, but they spoke with Flick and he said he wanted to see me in preseason and that theoretically, he counted on me. With the excitement of showing the coach that I could be in the first team’s squad, and so it has been.”

One of the first decisions Hansi Flick made in his Barcelona tenure was to pair Marc Bernal with Marc Casado in the base of midfield. He persisted with it throughout pre-season and even gave the duo a La Liga start in the campaign’s first game against Valencia.

Unfortunately, Bernal suffered a serious injury and is set to be out for the remainder of the campaign but Casado has grown from strength to strength, now finding himself in the mix to make his debut for Spain in the upcoming games under Luis de la Fuente.

It remains to be seen if Casado makes his debut for La Roja and if he can provide the same kind of impact for Spain as he did for Barcelona. Only time will tell how things pan out going forward.