Former Barcelona player trashes Spanish club: 'Small team mentality'

At 41 years old, Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo finds himself without a team after terminating his contract with Real Betis of the Spanish La Liga. However, instead of discussing his next club or whether he will retire, he has made headlines for some unexpected statements about one of his former teams: FC Barcelona.

Bravo spent two seasons at Barcelona, where he arrived from Real Sociedad in the 2014-2015 season, and was an undisputed starter for the team ahead of Marc-André ter Stegen, achieving some more than interesting numbers: he played a total of 75 games in which he conceded 44 goals (an average of 0.59 per game).

However, five days before the summer transfer window closed for the 2016-2017 season, it was announced that he was leaving the club and would be moving to Manchester City, who signed him at the express wish of Pep Guardiola. And it was between these two teams that the Chilean goalkeeper made a comparison that has raised eyebrows among Barcelona fans.

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In 'El Legado,' a program featuring interviews conducted by former Chilean goalkeeper Marcelo Ramírez, Claudio Bravo responded to a question about the main differences he experienced between the two clubs he played for. He remarked that "Barça works like a small team."

"It's huge on a global level. Madrid and Barça must be the biggest in terms of media and popularity. They are the most well-known. Wherever you go in the world, they fill the stadiums, but internally it's very small," said the Chilean goalkeeper.

There, in Barcelona, Claudio Bravo explained, "you always see the same faces, few people. The players, staff, three or four security guards, the cook and little else."

Nothing to do with Manchester City, according to the player, who described the Citizens as "a gigantic club" internally and which he considers, in terms of resources, unlimited: "People in the pool, in the locker room, in the medical area... There are too many people!" he pointed out with irony.

"They do not skimp on resources or personnel so that the footballer can develop in the best possible way and not have to worry about anything at all," Bravo added.

"You just have to worry about playing, we have the best physio, the best physical trainer in the gym, and not just one, but two or three; in the medical area you have two stretchers, not five; you have two or three doctors," he concluded, praising the good work carried out by the British club.

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After two fruitful years, Bravo's departure from FC Barcelona was surprising news. However, many attributed it to the long shadow of the German Marc-André ter Stegen, who could threaten his starting position, which would have pushed him to leave the Catalan club.

He confirmed this in a 2016 interview on the radio programme El Larguero, on Cadena SER, where he spoke openly about the situation: "I didn't want to be sitting on the bench. It's not my thing. And they understood that."

He did clarify, however, that "I didn't leave Barça because Ter Stegen was there. (…) Ter Stegen's presence had nothing to do with my departure. We didn't have a bad relationship. In fact, I think we benefited from each other. (…) I was very sincere. I didn't want to be sitting on the bench," he stressed.

"At Barcelona I always dedicated myself to doing my best. I always felt the support. (…) Barça offered me a new contract and I thank them, but seeing what their project was, I had to defend my position," concluded Bravo.

Finally, the Chilean goalkeeper would end up playing four seasons at Manchester City, of which only the first season as a fruitful campaign. Since the arrival of Ederson, Bravo spent plenty of time on the bench...

In Manchester, Bravo played less and had worse numbers: 61 games in all competitions (only 29 in the Premier League) in which he conceded 59 goals (an average of 0.97 goals per game), which led him to leave in 2020 to the last team of his career to date, Real Betis, according to Transfermarkt.

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Despite having his best stats and greater significance within the team while at Barça, Bravo's current reputation is far worse compared to his time at Manchester City. His comments have cast a negative light on the Catalan club, leaving its fans seriously upset with the man who was their standout goalkeeper for two years.