Ex-Barcelona coach explains why Takefusa Kubo joined Real Madrid
Barcelona will face former La Masia prodigy Takefusa Kubo in tonight’s La Liga trip to Real Sociedad.
Kubo made the summer decision to return to San Sebastian permanently, at the start of the 2023/24 season, after opting to leave Real Madrid, following a loan spell in the Basque Country.
The Japanese international joined Los Blancos in 2019, but never made a senior appearance for the club, as they loaned him out to multiple Spanish sides.
The 22-year-old has continued to star for La Real this season, and is attracting transfer interest from across Europe, however, his career path could have been very different.
As a 10-year-old, Kubo joined the famed Barcelona youth set up, following a trial, but he returned to Japan in 2015, due to FIFA rules on non-EU players.
Kubo’s former youth coach Joan Vila worked closely with him during his youth spell in Catalonia and admitted the club did not fight hard enough to bring him back before he joined Madrid.
“Due to FIFA regulations, we had to wait until he turned 18 to get him back, but I know there was not a very serious follow-up on him”, as per an interview with Diario AS.
“When he was 18, Barcelona called him. But they didn’t show real interest. In the end he joined Real Madrid.”
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