Former Barcelona star reveals he snubbed Real Madrid to join La Masia – ‘It was easy to decide’

Nico Gonzalez, who is in his second season at Porto after arriving in 2023 from FC Barcelona for €8.5 million, is experiencing his best moments as a player in Portugal.

In nine matches across all competitions, the former La Masia midfielder has scored three goals and provided two assists. It is worth noting that Barcelona have a buyback option for the young midfielder.

In an interview with the Portuguese media outlet O Jogo (h/t MARCA), Nico reflected on his time at La Masia and the Barcelona first team, making some interesting revelations.

Indeed, Nico let it out during the interview that he could have joined Real Madrid when he was young but opted to sign for La Masia instead.

The midfielder remarked that he had a trial with Barça when he was 9 years old, and the following year he was called back, but he hesitated because he was very young. At 11-12 years old, he had to choose his path and opted for the Catalans.

“I had several options, like Real Madrid and others, but I already knew Barça; I had been in the club since I was little, and it was easy to decide,” he said.

Nico went on to reveal that he never really grasped the enormity of playing for a club like Barcelona and being a part of La Masia where expectations are very high.

“I approached it in a normal way, not as extra pressure to work harder and prove myself,” he said.

At 19, the opportunity to be part of the first team came for Nico, but he never took it for granted because he did not believe in privileges “for doing what we love most and spending every day doing what most people would like.”

Recalling his first-team debut for the Blaugrana under Ronald Koeman, the Spaniard said: “I was very nervous; it was at Camp Nou against Real Sociedad.

“I remember I intercepted a ball and it wasn’t a foul, and from that free kick they scored a great goal – I think it was Oyarzabal. But we ended up winning, and it turned out well; it was a very special day.”

Nico broke into the Barcelona setup as a pivot midfielder but is playing in a more advanced role at Porto and is thriving this season.

The La Masia product revealed that he always idolised Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta growing up but started to follow Sergio Busquets closely once he transitioned into a defensive midfielder.

“My childhood idol was Iniesta, but when I started playing as a ‘6’ at Barça, I obviously leaned towards Busquets. However, here at Porto, my position is more similar to that of Iniesta,” he revealed.