The Champions League-winning forward sat down with FFT to discuss his time with the Potters and his recent reunion with an old friend from Barcelona
(Image credit: VI Images via Getty Images)
Stoke City's 2014 signing of Bojan took many by surprise, but it ultimately brought smiles to the faces of Potters fans and the man himself.
The 31-year-old – twice a Champions League winner with Barcelona before his unlikely arrival in Staffordshire – looks back on his time in the Premier League with great fondness, as he revealed in an interview for the new issue of FourFourTwo.
"I spoke with some people who had information about the style of Stoke," he recalled to FFT. "All of these guys said, 'Why are you going to stoke? This is not your type of football'. I said, 'I don't know if it's my style of football, but if they want me, it's because they know my style and they think I can help.' They thought I was crazy!
"I felt like it was the right club to go to, and we had amazing seasons. The times in a row, the club finished in the top 10 in the Premier League. We played fantastic football, and the fans loved it. It was one of the best moments of my entire career."
Bojan left the Potters – and Europe – in 2019, subsequently signing for MLS outfit Montreal Impact – and he continued his world tour last year by joining former Barca teammate Andres Iniesta at Vissel Kobe.
And, while he's found living alone in Japan challenging, he's glad to have reunited with Iniesta.
"It's nice," said Bojan, "not only to play alongside him but to share the dressing room and yet another chapter in our lives together.
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When we were at Barca, we were 15 years younger, so we wanted different things, but we got on well. I'm very happy that we have an even closer connection now."
Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...
