Barcelona’s Sergi Roberto and Max Verstappen exchange shirts at the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix
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Barcelona defender Sergi Roberto and F1 racer Max Verstappen recently met at the Spanish GP and they exchanged shirts with each other. Max Verstappen has been in good form this season while the same cannot be said for the Barcelona 4th choice captain.
Max Verstappen has always shown off his ‘colors’ in football. The Formula 1 world champion has been a Barça fan since he was a child and has referred to it on several occasions, such as when last season he commented on the dismissal of his compatriot Ronald Koeman by Xavi on the Barça bench.
This Thursday, on the eve of the Spanish Grand Prix, the Dutch driver received a visit from defender Sergi Roberto, who travelled to the Circuit de Barcelona to meet ‘Mad’ Max.
The Barça player has given Verstappen a shirt from the club of his ‘loves’, personalised with the number 1 number of the champion, in addition to his last name. Max has reciprocated with another detail and has given him an autographed Red Bull team shirt.
In 2016, Verstappen won his first F1 race with Red Bull, precisely in Barcelona, where before the race he received a visit from Johan Cruyff, starring in one of the last public images of the Dutch star, who died shortly after.
And in 2018, at a promotional event with Andrés Iniesta, Max said that Fernando Alonso, an honorary member of Real Madrid, “supported the wrong team”, as the motorsport portal recalls today.
Sergi Roberto’s future at FC Barcelona
Sergi Roberto’s future at Barcelona remains uncertain with the 30-year-old out of contract at the end of the season and yet to renew his current deal. President Joan Laporta said back in September the extension was “done” and has now offered another update where it seems it really isn’t done at all.
Here’s what he had to say according to Mundo Deportivo:
“At the moment this is in the hands of the representatives. Sergi Roberto is a player that we have a lot of appreciation for, personally, he has given many years of glory and a lot of football to Barça, now he is recovering from an injury and his contract is ending. He was offered the renewal at the time, I even intervened so that there were conditions in consensus with the two parties and they did not want to sign that renewal.
“So we understand that since they didn’t want to sign and now his contract is ending… We’ll see, because he is a player that we have to have special consideration and deference to because he has been part of a glorious stage in Barça’s history. That will focus on talking to him and making things clear for both parties.”
It appears increasingly likely that Roberto’s time at the club could soon be up, particularly with AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie also expected to arrive in the summer.
There have been reports of interest in Roberto from Atletico Madrid, Premier League clubs, and speculation about a possible move to the MLS, but it’s still not completely clear where he’ll play next season.
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Aryan Sharma
(95 Articles Published)