Lopez put a period of intense transfer speculation behind him with a man-of-the-match performance, scoring twice as برشلونة demolished فالنسيا 6-0 in La Liga on Sunday. The midfielder was the standout player at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, netting in each half to lead the rout. Further goals from رافينيا and Robert Lewandowski, who also bagged a brace, sealed a dominant victory that saw Hansi Flick’s side command 73 per cent possession and fire 24 shots on goal.
Speaking after the match, Fermin addressed the recent interest from تشيلسي and made his intentions clear. The 22-year-old said: “Not everything that’s been said is true, I don’t want to get into that. My intention has always been to be here for many years. I never had any doubts. There’s always been speculation, I’ve always wanted to be here, and I’ll fight to be here for many years.”
The midfielder’s comments come after a frantic end to the transfer window in which Chelsea pushed hard to secure his signature. The Blues reportedly tabled a bid worth around €40m (£34m/$47m), but Barcelona, adamant that Fermin was central to their project, demanded a fee of at least €90m. Fermin has since revealed that senior Barcelona players, including injured captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo and بيدري, held conversations with him to persuade him to stay in Catalunya and reject the lucrative offer from London.
Having cemented his place in the hearts of the Blaugrana faithful, Fermin’s immediate focus will turn to Barcelona’s next match in the دوري أبطال أوروبا against Newcastle, followed by a La Liga clash against خيتافي. He faces a significant battle for a regular starting spot at Barcelona. Head coach Flick has a wealth of attacking midfield options, including Dani Olmo, Raphinha, جافي and summer signing Marcus Rashford, meaning Fermin will need to build on his spectacular performance against Valencia to secure consistent minutes.
