Everton defender Yerry Mina struggled at Barcelona.
Former Barcelona defender Carles Puyol has been quoted by Marca as saying that it was hard for Yerry Mina to succeed at the Camp Nou.
Mina, 24, impressed in Colombia with Santa Fe before heading to Brazilian side Palmeiras, where the giant centre back continued to excel.
Barcelona swooped to land him in January 2018, but he struggled for playing time at the Camp Nou, making just four La Liga starts.
After scoring three goals in three games for Colombia at the World Cup, Everton paid big money to land the defender, ending his brief stint with Barca.
Some have called him a Barcelona flop, but club legend Puyol has now defended Mina, suggesting that it was tough for him to succeed at Barcelona, especially with so many other defenders at the club.
Puyol also wished Mina luck with Everton, feeling that it’s really difficult to adapt to such a huge club like Barcelona.
“Succeeding at Barcelona isn’t easy,” said Puyol. “It’s not easy to go there and adapt. You have to have time and you have players like [Gerard] Pique and [Samuel] Umtiti in front of you. I wish Mina good luck. Things like that happen and it’s not always easy,” he added.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Barcelona stuck a £54million buyback clause in Mina’s move to Everton, meaning he could yet return to the Catalan giants to make amends for his first spell.
However, Mina hasn’t yet impressed with Everton, meaning a return to the Camp Nou looks unlikely at this stage, even with club hero Puyol defending him.
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