Think I made right decision rejecting Bayern Munich for Barcelona, admits Sergino Dest
Barcelona new man Sergino Dest has revealed that he believes he made the right move in signing for the La Liga giants over Bayern Munich this summer. The former Ajax full-back signed for the Camp Nou side earlier this week for a move that could be worth upto €26 million including add-ons.
Despite serious interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester City this summer, Sergino Dest rejected the Cityzens in order to sign for Barcelona. The La Liga giants were reportedly said to always be the front-runners in the race for the former Ajax full-back but their struggles to raise the fee for the 19-year-old delayed the move. But with Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Nelson Semedo and a few others all leaving, it saw Barcelona eventually make the American their first move of the summer.
Not only that, Dest becomes the first-ever American player to play for the Camp Nou side and has signed a five-year contract with many fans believing that he can be their next great thing. The youngster revealed that it’s a “dream come true” for him as Barcelona were a club that he always wanted to play for. Dest further added that he rejected Bayern Munich because he “followed what my heart told me to” and he believes that it is the right decision.
"I'm proud to be the first-ever American here. It's a dream come true and I can't wait to get started with my new teammates. Bayern are a great club and there was interest from them, but I followed what my heart told me to and for that I signed for Barca. I think it was the right decision. They are a club with so much history and I've always wanted to play here. [Playing under] Koeman of course was an influence, because he's Dutch and it will be easier to communicate with him," Dest told a news conference
The 19-year-old is touted to make his debut on Sunday for Barcelona and he has the club’s full-back hopes resting on his shoulders especially with Nelson Semedo leaving this summer. The Portuguese international was supposed to be the Dani Alves replacement that Barcelona needed but struggled to replicate the same. Dest, however, admitted that he’s looking to do just that as the former Barcelona man is his role model.
"It's amazing to play with the best player in the world, I looked up to him . I will run as much as I have to. I will run for everybody in the team. If I see him today, in the afternoon, it will be so exciting to meet the best player in the world. I think right-back or left-back, those are my best positions. I will keep it like that. I will try and be like Dani Alves, he's my role model, so I want to run forward and run backward all the time. If I have to do more training for that, I will,” he added.