Grimaldo wants to return to Spain: "Even the club know it" | OneFootball

Alejandro Grimaldo has become a key player for Bayer Leverkusen since joining the club on a free transfer from SL Benfica in the summer of 2023.

But although the Spanish left-back is happy in Germany, he makes no secret of the fact that he'd like to play in his homeland in a not too distant future.

"That is indeed a goal I have. It is very clear to me, and even the club know it," Grimaldo told El Periódico de España.

"I want to return to Spain in the short and medium term and I want to try the experience of being in Spain because, ultimately, it is my country. I want to play there and enjoy the experience, and that's one of my goals.

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid. Could Grimaldo, a former Barcelona youth player, follow his coach to the Spanish capital?

“At the end of the day, I don't know what Xabi will do. It's up to him to decide,” said the left-back, who could rather see himself returning to Barcelona.

“As for me, I grew up at La Masia, it's the club where I grew up as a player and as a person, and it's the club I dreamed of playing for since I was a kid. I remember some interviews when I was a kid in which I said that my dream was to make it into the Barça first team and that has always been my dream.”

Despite expressing his desire to move to Spain at some point, Grimaldo also stressed how happy he is at Bayer Leverkusen, even if the German double winners haven't quite been able to replicate their performances of last season.

“I'm very happy. It's a bit different to last year because last season we won every game and that's not normal. I think we are having a great year, we are in the semi-finals of the cup, in the Champions League we had a very good group stage and then we lost to Bayern, who are one of the favorites in the competition. And in the league we are second, six points behind and fighting for the title,” he said.

“Personally, I feel very good, very comfortable, I am contributing as much as I can to the team and I always come to the national team to help. And I want to keep doing that because I feel very comfortable and very good.”