Nocturnal 
Anthony Gordon reckons English football never truly rated him – and he’s had to move to Spain to feel properly appreciated.
The winger, who completed a £68m move from Newcastle United to Barcelona over the summer, has opened up on why he felt the need to leave the Premier League behind. Speaking to ITV Football during the international break, Gordon said his technical ability was overlooked during his time in England.
“I think I’ve become a different player in the eyes of a lot of people because in England I always felt that I was respected for being fast and pressing, but they never really respected the quality and intelligence with which I play,” he said. “Only the players I played with seemed to realise that. I don’t think I was ever fully respected in England.”
What Gordon says changed at Barcelona
According to Gordon, the perception of him as a player shifted completely once he arrived at the Camp Nou outfit. “People just see me as someone who’s very fast and very aggressive, whereas in Spain they really appreciate my intelligence and my quality,” he explained.
He pointed to the contrast in styles between his old and new clubs as part of the reason. “I used to play for Newcastle, who were a very high-tempo side, so running and aggression were always on display. Now I play in a completely different style where my other qualities can be seen,” he said, as reported by Tribal Football.
Gordon added that Barcelona’s football demands more than athleticism. “At Barcelona, if you’re not skilful or intelligent, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb straight away,” he said.
The move and his form so far
Gordon spent his time at Newcastle building a strong record, making 152 appearances for the Magpies, scoring 39 goals and providing 21 assists, as per Tribal Football. Barcelona’s deal for the 25-year-old was their biggest outlay of the summer transfer window, with figures reported between £68m and £69m depending on the outlet.
He’s wasted little time making an impact at his new club. Gordon has featured in seven matches for Barcelona, starting five of them and registering five assists, according to Sports Mole, with four of those assists coming in his first six La Liga appearances as Barça chase down the title under Hansi Flick.
His switch to Spain has also coincided with a recall to the England set-up. Gordon scored against Spain during the recent international break and has been included in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for Nations League fixtures against Czechia and Croatia.
Explaining his thinking behind the move, Gordon said he always believed he had more to give than people in England gave him credit for. “I felt I had more to offer than people thought I did, and I wanted to prove it on the world’s biggest stage. Going abroad was very important to me,” he said.
For now, Gordon appears settled into life in Catalonia, with his comments likely to spark debate among Newcastle fans and pundits back home over whether he really was undervalued during his time in the Premier League.
