How Barcelona and Madrid fought to sign Sergi Roberto
Fights between Barcelona and Madrid to sign future stars are normal, but one of the most ferocious of our times was the battle for Sergi Roberto. A boy of 14 years of age from Nastic caught the attention, but until then only Espanyol had been interrested in his signing. Sergi reached his second year of training in the Infantil category in Tarragona, after being formed in Santes Creus, when he travelled to Barcelona to play against Damm. A game that marked him forever. It was there that FC Barcelona saw him and moved to sign him at full speed. Real Madrid's chief scout in Catalunya, Manolo Romero, was also on the prowl and knew there was no time to waste.
Los Blancos were the first to move for him. Sergi had a great game in Nou Barris and Madrid sent a fax to the offices of Nastic with an offer for the player. The proposal created a lot of doubt in the player's family, but luckily they had little time to think. The fax machine provided another surprise on Tuesday, with a message from Barcelona. The player had a dream to play at Barcelona, his family too, and they gave him the nod on that immediately. Sergi took a couple of training sessions with Barça and was incorporated into the Cadete B side.
The person responsible for bringing Sergi Roberto to Barcelona was Albert Benaiges. He went to the game to watch Jose Barragan, a centre-back for Nastic, but during the match saw a central midfielder perfect for Barcelona. He gave his name and asked the club to help sign him. Benaiges didn't think twice - this was an ideal player for Barcelona.
Sergi had reached the time to take a leap forward after a scrupulous process of formation. After two years in the Escola Maria Cortina, he became the youngest player for Santes Creus, a club of great tradition in grassroots football in Reus. In the last two years there he was taught by Ignacio Rodriguez, a coach who continues to work with young people in Santes Creus and who taught him the football basics. Their connection was so good that Sergi keeps contact with him and asks advice from time to time.
