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Sergino Dest made it crystal clear during his media availability on Friday: he wants to stay at Barcelona. After spending last season on loan at Milan, and after reading months of transfer rumors regarding his next step, the U.S. men's national team star has every intention of staying. However, Dest does know that staying comes with a caveat, a condition that he must live up to. The decision is not entirely in his hands. If Dest wants to stay at Barcelona, he must first prove that he deserves to stay at Barcelona.
And that's what he has every intention of doing. The American is back with Barca for the club's pre-season, which will see the Spanish giants travel to the U.S. to take on Juventus, Arsenal, Real Madrid and AC Milan as part of the Soccer Champions Tour. The trip to the U.S. will give Dest a big opportunity to impress Xavi, to prove that, even after a disastrous year in the wilderness while on loan, he has returned to Spain as a better player and person than the one who left.
For several months, Dest has been linked to clubs all over Europe. Manchester United, Fulham, Crystal Palace, Union Berlin... all have been rumored with a move for the American at some point over the last few weeks. It's clear that, despite a disastrous loan spell at Milan, Dest still has interest all over Europe. It'll partly be due to a solid World Cup, with Dest doing well enough in Qatar. It'll also be due to his profile: a 22-year-old attacking, modern full-back that already has experience with Ajax and Barcelona. He joined Barca from Ajax in 2020 and has made 72 appearances for the Spanish giants. However, he has never quite locked down a consistent role or established himself as a permanent member of the starting XI.
He hopes to change that this season, though, and he knows this pre-season is key to altering the perception of him at the Camp Nou. I see myself staying," he said. "Obviously, I have to prove myself during the pre-season. I'm fully focused on myself at the moment. It's up to me and I feel like I can and I will prove it. My mindset is to stay here and to have like a really nice season and to follow through with Barca.
Xavi's message
For the past several years, Dest's relationship with Xavi has been a talking point. Reports out of Spain have often said the legendary midfielder-turned-manager doesn't trust the American, with conflicting reports emerging in recent weeks saying that he believes Dest deserves another chance. Dest, though, says the message he's received from Xavi is loud and clear.
At the end of the day, he just told me like, 'Okay, I'll give you a fair chance to prove yourself', so that's what it is at the moment," Dest said. "He also told me, 'I think you have qualities but it's up to you, you have to show me', and I fully agree. I think it is up to me. I think I have some qualities that can be good for the team, but I have to be consistent.
He added: As the coach said, everybody starts on zero every season. I feel like with what happened last season with me, I'm a little bit behind. I started a little bit behind and I feel that as well, so I have to have a fast start. I'm here to prove myself to the staff, to the club, and I want to make sure that I stay so I had to give my best to the team to help the team win.
Dest is right: he does return to Barcelona's pre-season a bit behind, and that's largely due to his disastrous loan spell at Milan. After falling down the depth chart a bit at Barca, Dest's move to Milan was supposed to be a chance for the full-back to prove himself at a club of similar stature. Instead, it was nothing less than a waste of a season as Milan had little intention of playing him.
Dest played just 14 games in all competitions during his time in Italy. Only three of those appearances came after the new year, totaling 140 minutes. It was so bad, in fact, that Dest was left unregistered for the Champions League and was eventually released to join the USMNT to face Mexico outside of a FIFA window. The full-back admits it was a rough year, but he also says it is one that helped him refocus on what he wants to be as a player. Obviously, it's not easy," he said. "It's a really difficult moment in my career, and in my life as well. When you get moments like that, you learn a lot from it, so for me, I got mentally way stronger.
You can just look at it in two ways. You can look at it in a negative way like everything is going bad or you can just keep trying to find a positive way in the negative things that happen. That was my thing that I did. I always looked at it positively and I was like, 'okay, at the moment, I'm not playing, I'm not doing so well, but, in these times, I can just work on myself individually', so that's also what I did. I feel like all these times, even if you're not playing, you can always work on yourself. You can always improve and nobody's perfect so everybody can still work on himself or herself as a result.
Milan, of course, have brought in another American this summer: Christian Pulisic. The USMNT star completed his move from Chelsea to Milan this week and he'll likely instantly become a key figure in the club's starting XI. That will be one of the main reasons he chose Milan, who offered him another chance to play for a megaclub after his struggles at Stamford Bridge. Dest admitted that Pulisic did talk to him about life at Milan and, despite not having the best experience with the Rossoneri, Dest didn't have any negative things to say about the club during the conversation with his teammate.
I gave him my honest advice," he said. "What I experienced at the club, I'm not negative at all. What I've just done is give him the facts and then I told him that, at the end of the day, it's all up to you. Everybody has his own career, his own path, so what happened to me is not supposed to be happening to him, you know? I just told him the facts. I told him that it's a really nice club, of course. The city is nice. But at the end of the day, it's your choice and you have to see what is best for your future, so I just left it a bit open.
Funnily enough, Dest and Pulisic could face off as part of the Soccer Champions Tour, with Barca set to take on AC Milan in Las Vegas on August 1. It would be nice to play against Christian," Dest said. "I just have to do my best and make sure that on the field, I'm the boss! I'm looking forward to it.
Dest heads into pre-season riding something of a high, though, despite his club experience last year. After playing a key role at the World Cup in Qatar, Dest helped the U.S. lift the Nations League title this summer with wins over Mexico and Canada. Dest started that win over El Tri, but received a red card late, robbing him of a chance to play in the final.
Still, getting back on the field with the USMNT, and with a trophy on the line, was key for Dest. I feel like the Nations League has helped a lot. "Of course in Vegas, [against] Mexico, obviously I didn't play the final unfortunately, but it's nice to have some games at the end of the season. I think that was good for me because I didn't get that many minutes. Over the last half of the season, I didn't get minutes, so I think it was good to get some minutes with the national team to keep myself fit. I think it helped me so I think was a good solution for me and I'm happy that I played.
Barca will head to the U.S. in the coming days to begin pre-season, with the club taking on several of the world's best. First up will be a match against Juventus at Levi's Stadium before a game against Arsenal at SoFi Stadium four days later. On July 29, Barca will take on Real Madrid in a stateside edition of El Clasico before facing AC Milan in Las Vegas on August 1.El Clasico, of course, will be circled for all involved, with Dest eager to play a part.
In El Clasico, there's always magic," he said. "You never know what's going to happen, but it's always a surprise for the fans, for everybody. I think it's the best game in football. Even if it's in Dallas, wherever it is, it's always a nice game to play and to see for the fans. I think for the fans to see it up close with the USA tour is really special, especially for the American fans. We will try to entertain everybody and win the game.
Source: goal.com
