Aubameyang reveals truth about Arsenal exit: ‘I had offers from Italy, but Barcelona…’

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang confirms that he snubbed offers from Italy and France to join Barcelona in the winter transfer window.

The Gabon international rescinded his contract with Arsenal in January, joining Barcelona as a free agent. The former Milan starlet had been stripped of the captaincy and his rapport with coach Mikel Arteta had fallen apart.

He was also linked with a move to Serie A and the 32-year-old has confirmed that he had received calls from Italy before joining the Catalans.

“I had other options, in France and Italy, but Barça is Barça,” Aubameyang told Sport.es.

“It’s an incredible opportunity for me, I want to bring the club back where they deserve to be. I waited until the very end of the transfer window, my heart was pounding.

“I called my father, I told him: ‘I am coming to your place.’ I really wanted to come here,” he added.

“Then I went to sleep for a little while because I was very tired when I arrived in the morning before my medical. I really wanted to come here, it is an important opportunity for me.”

Aubameyang spent a few years in Milan’s youth sector and the Rossoneri were one of the clubs reportedly interested in securing his services in the January transfer window. The former Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund star never made his senior debut with the Rossoneri during his time in Italy but scored against Juventus in the friendly tournament ‘Trofeo Berlusconi’ in 2007. Milan were coached by Carlo Ancelotti at that time.

Aubameyang scored a hat-trick in his third La Liga game against Valencia last week and is expected to start against Napoli in the second leg of the Europa League knock-out play-offs at the Stadio Maradona on Thursday.

🚨Aubameyang analiza sus primeros días en el Barça en una entrevista con @sport

💥El gabonés lo tenía claro y así vivió el último día de mercado de invierno

La entrevista▶ https://t.co/QExlCLyNxX pic.twitter.com/ipAVHcW3J0

— Diario SPORT (@sport) February 22, 2022