Jorge Cuenca talks Pedri, Araujo, returning to Barcelona

Barcelona will look to continue building on their 2-0 win against Cadiz, when they take on Villarreal at El Madrigal on Sunday.

One player who will be looking forward to this particular encounter is Jorge Cuenca, the former Barcelona defender, who has started the first two league matches this season.

Heading into this game, Cuenca sat down with Mundo Deportivo, where he talked about his former club and former teammates including Pedri and Ronald Araujo.

Jorge Cuenca lauds Pedri, Araujo

“I played with Pedri in the national team and also with Eric and they are great teammates,” Cuenca said when talking about Pedri.

The Villarreal centre-back heaped even more praise on Ronald Araujo.

The two were once part of Barça’s second team and Cuenca believes the Uruguayan is an example to follow.

“Ronald Araujo deserves admiration, especially as a person while as a player he is an example to follow. I get along really well with him on the field,” he said.

“When we were in the second team, we played together for a long time as a starting couple and he’s a great teammate and a great captain. He deserves everything he achieves,” he added.

On a return to Barcelona

Cuenca played for Barcelona for a very short time and had made only one competitive appearance for the Catalans.

But when asked about a potential return to Catalonia, Cuenca remained rather coy, even though he did express his happiness over his role at Villarreal.

“Let’s see, football is very volatile. You never know where it will be next year and what I’m fighting for is to be able to perform at my highest level and develop as a top-choice footballer,” he said.

“I’m ambitious and very happy at Villarreal, I have a passion to grow and deliver. My best is here. I’m going to fight to do my best, there’s a long race ahead of me. I’m 23 and I want to try to go as far as I can,” Cuenca added.

Finally, when asked about the current state of the Barcelona defence, the Villarreal star praised the club for their defensive performance last season.

“Last year’s numbers in LaLiga were very good and it was very difficult to score goals against them. The work was done very well and it was seen on the field. They did a great job,” he said.