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Barcelona officially presented their latest signing, Emerson Royal, on Monday evening. The 22-year-old defender joined the Catalan club from Real Betis for €9 million.
Speaking at his first press conference as a Barcelona player, the Brazilian expressed his delight at joining his dream club and promised to give his best to the team. He said:
"It's a great pleasure to be here in Barcelona as I've always said my dream was to play here for Barcelona. I want to make a promise to everyone. On the pitch, I promise to give it my best."
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Emerson Royal added that he intends to make the most of his opportunity at Camp Nou.
"I know how difficult it is to be here and I'm going to take advantage of the opportunities given to me. My work rate won't fail me. There might be other circumstances, but I will work to the maximum."
The full-back made 79 first-team appearances for Real Betis since joining the La Liga outfit in 2019.
Emerson Royal will have to fight for his place at Barcelona
Barcelona already possess three right-backs in their ranks, including Sergi Roberto, Oscar Mingueza and Sergino Dest. This would make Emerson Royal's route to first-team football at Camp Nou even more difficult.
However, the defender is ready to fight for his place and establish himself as the go-to right-back under Ronald Koeman. He said:
"There are many players with great qualities. I'm here to do my job, the same way they are. I respect my teammates, but I'm of course here to fight for my position."
Emerson Royal also revealed who his Barcelona idol is:
"Dani Alves was an idol of mine and he's the player with the most titles in world football. I spoke to him and he told me that to be successful here I should keep working like I have been doing."
Barcelona now have an abundance of right-backs at their disposal. However, due to their financial issues, the Catalan giants could be forced into selling one of them to balance their books.
Also Read: David James' column - Ranking the 5 best signings made in the transfer window so far
