Manchester City player declares he enjoys national team more than winning titles with club

Originally posted on Football Espana | By Ruairidh Barlow | Last updated 12/13/23

Manchester City left-back Sergio Gomez has admitted that despite winning the Champions League and Premier League last campaign, the times he has enjoyed himself the most are with the Spain under-21 side.

During an interview with Relevo, it was touched on the fact that the 23-year-old has not been a regular under Pep Guardiola, but did feature regular for the under-21 side under current senior manager Luis de la Fuente. Playing as a winger, Gomez has 10 goals and 9 assists in 19 games.

“I have won a Premier League and a Champions League, but my greatest joys have come from the National Team. They are more than teammates, I play with friends there and it shows on the pitch.”

"I watched a lot of Zinchenko's games. I came to City because he left, it was what the coach wanted. I was getting his Arsenal clips because he was trying to get me notice what he did."

"He was a similar case to mine: with the national team he played higher up, with the club he… pic.twitter.com/EC445Ie9Mk

— Football España (@footballespana_) December 13, 2023

He is hoping to return to that same group of players this coming summer, at the Paris Olympics.

“The goal last year was the U21 European Championship, this year there are the [Olympic] Games. It would be a very nice thing. We have created a family in that generation. Because of the age issue, we don’t know what will happen because only three people over 23 can go… I am willing to go, I hope I can.”

While many players are keen to emphasize their commitment to the national team, it seems often that players enjoy playing with their compatriots as much if not more than with their clubs. Frequently members of the World Cup-winning Argentina side have spoken about the enjoyable atmosphere. Not that it is a prerequisite for success, with tensions high in the Spain camp ahead of Euro 2012.

This article first appeared on Football Espana and was syndicated with permission.

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