Former Barcelona striker ‘did not understand’ how to deal with Messi comparisons

When Bojan Krkic broke into the Barcelona first team at the age of 17 years and 19 days, he became the youngest ever to achieve the feat and made a name for himself. In just his first season, he netted 12 times and played a whopping 48 games for the Blaugrana.

The severe competition and heavy pressure soon forced him to leave the Catalan capital for Roma in Italy. Little did he know that the move away from Barcelona signalled the beginning of the end of his football career.

Bojan spoke to SPORT recently where he discussed his time at Barcelona, the comparisons with a certain Lionel Messi, and the pressure on Ansu Fati amongst other topics. Barça Universal brings you snippets from his interaction with the Spanish outlet.

The La Masia graduate spoke about how people compared him to Messi during his initial years at the club and the pressure such a situation brought with it.

“Nobody taught me anything, I had to learn it. I had to compete against what people said about me, that they said I was ‘The new Messi’. At first, I did not understand how I could meet those expectations,” he said.

Acceptance is sometimes the only option presented to an individual, and Bojan found himself at a similar standpoint over the expectations people had of him. Elaborating on how he dealt with the situation, he said:

“Little by little I learned to move away from what people said, I knew my limits, I accepted them and I identified my strengths to set new goals.”

The 32-year-old forward who most recently played for Vissel Kobe then shed some light on the gradual ascent of a player within the dressing room and how one evolved with growing seniority.

“You start to become aware of your arrival in the first team when the person you are now becomes a character. You go from being someone anonymous, a kid who comes from his village, to someone everyone knows. Nobody teaches you any of that.”

Bojan sympathises with Ansu Fati’s situation

Ansu Fati is the latest player from Barcelona’s academy to be compared to Lionel Messi and even inherited the iconic #10 shirt from the Argentine legend.

Bojan sympathised with the difficult time the 20-year-old is going through and said he could relate with the young star.

“I have experienced Ansu Fati’s case in my own body. You generate a lot of enthusiasm at a time when the club needed a ‘product’ from La Masia. And I don’t like to say it because I don’t like to hear it, but that’s how we are treated,” Bojan stated.

There is little room for patience in football, especially at a club like Barcelona. The pressure to win and perform are constants in the Catalan setup, and Fati finds himself in a similar situation coming out of a long-term injury. The former Barcelona player gave his two cents on the criticism around Fati.

“When you start to play very well, everything goes well, but when you have to face something that is part of this sport, such as injuries, is when you have to work hard emotionally and mentally. You have to have the tools to overcome that challenge,” the ex-Stoke City ace added.

The Spanish forward finally spoke about the role of the manager in a player’s development and added that a footballer is only as good as the number of chances given to him.

“As a player, you depend on a coach, he is the one who decides whether you play or not. When the player is playing and feels important in the team, it is easier for things to go well. The problem comes when he doesn’t have chances.”