Former La Masia prodigy reveals admiration for Barcelona: “Will always be home”

Speaking in an interview with BILD, RB Leipzig star Dani Olmo has declared his love and admiration for FC Barcelona, having spent several years within the club’s youth system.

Olmo joined Barça’s famed La Masia academy in 2007, arriving from the Espanyol youth setup. The versatile attacking midfielder stayed at the club until 2014, at which point he signed for Dinamo Zagreb.

The move paid great dividends for Olmo as he soon became a first-team star for the Croatian giants, which eventually helped him seal a move to RB Leipzig in 2020.

A key part of the Spanish national team setup, Olmo had been linked with a move back to Barcelona when Ronald Koeman was in charge. However, finances prevented the reunion from happening.

While that maybe so, Olmo revealed in an interview with BILD that he still considers Barcelona to be his home and would be keen on returning to Spain to play in La Liga in the future.

As quoted by SPORT, he said: “I played there for six years when I was young. It will always be home for me. Many of my friends from the national team play there.”

“I want to go back some time, it will be great. Spain is my country, my league. My family and friends live there. But I’m not just tied to Spain. The most important thing for me is to play for a club where I feel loved and important,” he added.

Olmo’s current contract with RB Leipzig stands to expire in the summer of 2024 and there have been no discussions over a renewal as of yet, according to the player.

“I have spoken to Max Eberl several times, but so far not on the subject. Maybe we’ll talk about it again here at the training camp. We’ll see what happens. Anything is possible,” he said.

Barcelona are operating on tight finances and Olmo’s potential availability on a cut-price fee this summer, when he enters the final year of his contract, might appeal to them. Whether they rekindle their interest in the Spaniard come summer will be interesting to see.