Madrid, March 31 (IANS) Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella said it would be difficult to turn down a return to Barcelona if the opportunity arose, while also voicing frustration over his club’s direction this season.

The 27-year-old Spain international came through Barcelona’s youth system but made just one first-team appearance in the Copa del Rey before spells with Eibar and Getafe. He later moved to the Premier League, spending a season at Brighton before joining Chelsea in June 2022.

Speaking ahead of Spain’s international friendly against Egypt on Tuesday, Cucurella said a return to Camp Nou would be hard to refuse, reports Xinhua.

“It’s not just me, it’s also my family,” he said. “If the chance comes, then we’ll have to make a decision.”

The left-back also criticised Chelsea’s decision earlier this season to sack coach Enzo Maresca and suggested the club remains short of the level required to compete for major honours, pointing in part to its policy of recruiting younger players.

“You are fighting and training every day only to realise, at the very end, that when games matter, we are still a bit away from the top level,” he said.

“I understand this is part of the club’s policy, and that they want to take this direction, but for all of us who are still here and want to win big things, moments like this make you feel discouraged.”

“We have a good core of players. The foundations are there. But to fight for major trophies such as the Premier League or the Champions League, you need more. Signing young players only might complicate achieving those goals. Against PSG, we lacked players that had gone through situations like that.

“You need time as well, and I know the young players are the ones that will have the experience in the future. But you need to find the balance between both worlds,” he said.

Chelsea’s policy of prioritising youth over experience in player recruitment is jeopardising their chances of winning major trophies, he said.

–IANS

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