Goalkeeper explains his reasons for leaving Barcelona for Manchester City.
Manchester City new boy Claudio Bravo has said he decided to leave Barcelona because he was no longer first-choice keeper at the Nou Camp in an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena SER published in the Daily Mail.
Bravo joined City in £17.1million deal at the back end of August after being informed he would be No.2 to Marc-Andre ter Stegen at Barcelona this season.
Chile international Bravo had been first-choice keeper for Barcelona manager Luis Enrique in La Liga for the past two seasons with Ter Stegen playing the role of cup ‘keeper.
Former Real Sociedad shot-stopper Bravo started this season in the Barcelona side as Ter Stegen returned from injury but was informed by Enrique that he would drop to the bench once the German international returned to fitness.
Bravo revealed he turned down a new deal at Barcelona to move to City as he did not want to be playing second fiddle to Ter Stegen and he has been installed as Pep Guardiola’s first-choice goalkeeper at the Etihad Stadium.
“It was not me that was [first] at Barca, it was Ter Stegen,” Bravo told Cadena SER as reported in the Daily Mail. “The club made me an offer to renew but, seeing their plans, I also made them understand my position.
“I was very sincere; I did not want to sit on the bench. It’s not my thing. And they understood. In Barcelona I always devoted myself to doing my best, I always felt the support.”
Bravo also rejected claims that he had a difficult relationship with Ter Stegen as the pair battled it out to become Barca’s number one, insisting the competition brought out the best in both of them.
“What appeared in the press – that we had a bad relationship and things were uncomfortable at the end – was not true,” Bravo added. “It was never a problem, indeed, we both always benefitted from the competition.”
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