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Marc Cucurella is relishing the challenge of coming up against his former club Barcelona and his Spain teammate Lamine Yamal when Chelsea welcome the La Liga giants to Stamford Bridge next month.
The Blues play their fifth Champions League league phase match at home against Barca on November 25, and while that is some time away yet, Cucurella has been asked about the prospect during a press conference on international duty. The Chelsea left-back was signed by Barca in 2012 from Espanyol's academy and then progressed through the ranks at La Masia.
Cucurella, who has been one of Chelsea's standout performers ever since Enzo Maresca took charge last summer, made his first-team debut for the Catalan club in October 2017 before heading out for back-to-back loan spells with Eibar and Getafe. The 27-year-old then joined Getafe on a permanent basis in March 2020, where he excelled for the Spanish side before Brighton came calling.
And the rest is history. Cucurella is now well renowned as one of the best left-backs in world football and is flourishing for Chelsea in the Premier League. All of this to say, Cucurella would not change anything that has happened in his career - including leaving Barcelona so early on.
"I wouldn't change my career for having stayed at Barca, to be honest," Cucurella said. "Maybe if I had stayed, I wouldn't have had playing time or learned what I have learned.
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"To play at the highest level, it's key to have confidence, and I found that outside of Barca. I wouldn't change anything I have experienced."
Cucurella continued: "The good thing about me was that I was a little different from the rest. My characteristics weren't the most 'made in La Masia', and that helped me adapt to other styles. Between what they taught me there and what I learned outside, I have become a good player."
The Blues full-back will be tasked with marking Yamal, most likely, when Chelsea entertain Barca next month. Yamal, who is just 18-years-old, has established himself as one of, if not the, world's best footballers in the last couple of seasons, with a sensational showing for club and country.
Cucurella, though, seems to be relishing the challenge of coming up against the teenage sensation and has insisted the left-back, who plays in such an intense and aggressive manner, will not change how he approaches the test, even in a World Cup season.
"I won't hold back there," Cucurella joked. "The good thing is that there's still a long way to go before the World Cup. If I knock him out, he'll have plenty of time to recover.
"I like playing against people I don't know, I feel more comfortable. I'm not one to write to opponents before games if they're friends either."
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