'They told me I was crazy': Dani Olmo's father on urging his son to leave Barcelona to play in Croatia

In 2014, Barca U-18 captain Dani Olmo decided to leave Barcelona to forge a career in Croatia with Dinamo Zagreb. That decision was heavily influenced by a perceived lack of future opportunities with the first team by Olmo's father Miquel.

Speaking to The Guardian about the incident Miquel Omo said: "They told me I was crazy. "They massacred me for it, saying I was ruining my son's career. Leaving Barcelona was not easy, especially if you were the captain, and he was also playing for the national team. It was the most difficult decision in his life."

Olmo went on to make his senior debut for Dinamo Zagreb at the age of 16. Last January, Zagreb cashed in on their star, selling him for €22 million to RB Leipzig.

Olmo was the hero for Spain in their 2-1 win against Georgia at the weekend. The 22-year-old popped up with a 91st-minute winner for La Roja in the heated encounter.

The attacking midfielder has been mighty impressive for RB Leipzig this term. He's provided 9 assists and scored 3 goals in his 26 Bundesliga outings.

Perhaps Olmo and Barca can yet be reunited; he was linked to the club last year.

READ ALSO

Barca consider keeping Miranda as back-up to Alba, set to extend contract (reliability: 4 stars)

Barcelona are pleased with Juan Miranda's performances on loan at Real Betis and consider keeping him next season as a back-up for Jordi Alba, Mundo Deportivo report. In order to keep the 21-year-old, however, the Catalans would have to trigger the option in his contract allowing them to extend it for two additional seasons.

The plan is to sell Junior Firpo next summer and find him a replacement at the club. Besides Miranda, Barcelona B's left-back Alejandro Balde is also considered as a candidate.

As for Juan himself, his ultimate goal is to succeed at Barca. However, if it's not possible for him to join the Catalans over the summer, he'd like to continue at Betis, it's said.

Miranda played 18 matches for Los Beticos this term, recording two goals and one assist.

Araujo: 'I didn't even have shoes to play football. My mother had to pay for them in installments'

"Sometimes we didn't have enough food. I remember eating some pasta with mayonnaise just with my mother," Ronald Araujo has told BarcaTV when opening up on his rough childhood.

"I didn't even have shoes to play football. My parents made a great effort to buy me shoes. I will always be grateful to them.

"My mother had to pay for my football shoes in installments. It took her eight or nine months to pay for it. In the past, I didn't have shoes. Today, I have a contract with Nike," the Uruguayan concluded.

Ronald Araujo joined Barcelona B from Uruguayan side Boston River in August 2018. Already a year later, the centre-back made his debut appearance for the first team, months before establishing himself as the Catalans' regular starter.