People now recognise me in the streets - Vidal
The Barcelona public have begun to take notice of Aleix Vidal in the streets after making his long-awaited debut for the club.
Aleix Vidal says people are now starting to recognise him in the streets after making his debut for Barcelona on Wednesday.
The midfielder made a second-half cameo as Barcelona recorded a 4-1 win over Espanyol in their Copa del Rey round of 16 first leg.
Luis Enrique then handed Vidal his first start for the club in their 4-0 win against Granada in La Liga three days later.
Vidal, an €18million signing from Sevilla in the off-season, has noticed an increase in attention on the streets of the Catalonia capital.
"Up until now, I could pass through Barcelona and my friends would tell me how no-one would say anything to be," he told TV3.
"The day before I played for Espanyol I noted how people were now recognising me."
The 26-year-old is relishing playing for the "best team in the world" but revealed he had his doubts when he heard of interested from the club.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
"I had doubts when I heard Barca were after me, because it has been four of five years of me playing 40 games a season," he said.
"With Barca banned by FIFA [in registering players], I couldn't play for months.
"I'm not lying, but it was a difficult decision. My wife is the one that convinced me. She and a meeting with the coach showed they had a lot of confidence in me."
‘Scoring in a World Cup is like winning the title – can you imagine millions of people celebrating something you did? It’s insane and made me very proud’: Brazil legend explains how much 2002 goal meant to him
'He already had the ability but didn’t use it because he was afraid to shoot – I said, "You’re a player who has to decide games – you have to take risks, mate"': Liverpool star was forced to become confident by team-mates