MARC CUCURELLA has faced rejection many times in his career but he just doesn’t give up.
When he signed from Espanyol nobody at Barcelona would talk to him for weeks because he celebrated wildly after beating them in the Copa del Rey final.
8
He’d come to training but would never talk to anyone and mostly sat in the changing room by himself.
In an exclusive interview, his old team-mate at Barcelona, Carles Alena, told SunSport: “He took his shirt off, went wild and the crazy thing is, a month later, he had signed for Barcelona so you can imagine how we felt.
“When he came to Barca for preseason, I remember I couldn’t even look at him. Neither could many of my team-mates and he didn’t want to look at us either.
“He was kind of embarrassed and I remember those first few days, he’d sit in the locker room without even making eye contact, like ‘Damn, what have I done?’”
But football has a unique way of joining people and it wasn’t long before his new team-mates started to understand it was all done in the spirit of competitiveness.
His second immediate challenge was to break into the first team, every player who comes through their La Masia academy dreaming of playing for Barcelona.
If they don’t, it can crush them – but Cucurella’s story is proof that sometimes to win, you have to lose first.
The first-team league debut never came. So in the summer of 2018 with the transfer window about to close, he got a phone call from Eibar sporting director Fran Garagarza.
Join SUN CLUB for the Chelsea Files every Tuesday plus
in-depth coverage and exclusives from Stamford Bridge
He said: “Hey, I know you want to play at Barcelona but maybe you can play at Eibar first, then you can show them what you’re made of.”
Most young players at La Masia would hesitate but Cucurella was hungry to play so he didn’t dwell on it for long.
He had come from Espanyol and after a difficult start won over everyone but he had a feeling it was time to go big time.
Alena, who had become his best friend in the squad, revealed: “He didn’t want to play in Segunda B again.
“Then the opportunity with Eibar came up, and I think he made the right choice because he had a coach there, Mendilibar, who really trusted him.
“He became even more of a footballer there than he already was.”
The meeting to leave Barcelona lasted just two hours, that was it. From that moment, his life and mindset changed.
He went from waiting for opportunities to creating them himself. Sometimes that’s all you need.
He was one of the popular faces at La Masia, but there were others seen as more talented or higher in the pecking order – but still he was more aggressive, more driven.
8
8
Barcelona agreed to a loan with Eibar, with a £2million option to buy, and a £4m buy-back clause. Everyone was satisfied.
Eibar coach Jose Luis Mendilibar, who gave him his debut, told Marca: “He’s a kid who’s neither fast nor strong.
“In all the measurements we do with the many machines we have, he doesn’t fit into any of them.
“You’d never sign him based on that but he’s a footballer, very smart. He chooses well. That’s Marc Cucurella.“
In the entire Spanish football pyramid, Eibar is one of the hardest places to play.
They’re a small team from a tiny village in the Basque region, known for playing physical, direct football, more like English teams than the typical Spanish style.
8
For someone from La Masia, that should’ve been a challenge but Cucurella excelled there.
They say you never know how strong you are until being strong is the only option – so the new challenge tested him and he passed with flying colours.
Eibar exercised the buy option and Barcelona bought him back for £4m, making Eibar a £2m profit in just one season.
Getafe days
Cucurella returned to Barcelona twice as tall, more confident and having proved himself by helping a small club punch above their weight.
One team stood out among the clubs interested, Getafe.
Ramon Planes, now sporting director at Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, knew the Spanish system well and had kept a close eye on Cucurella.
He convinced Barcelona to do a similar deal as they had with Eibar but this time for £10m potentially rising to £18.5m.
Cucurella spent two seasons at Getafe, playing their memorable Europa League campaign and helping the team cement their LaLiga status.
8
Amankwaa Akurugu, the backup left-back to Cucurella at Getafe, exclusively tells SunSport: “I was young and he came in with so much experience and energy.
“He was exemplary in the dressing room but it was on the pitch where his energy really showed, his pressing was relentless and his defensive work was solid.
“He never acted like he was from Barcelona and deserved respect. He was humble, cracked jokes with us and made everything easy.
“He easily could’ve acted like the boss after all he’d done well the previous season and was still on Barcelona’s books but none of that shows how grounded he is.”
Brighton
Cucurella’s stock kept rising, West Ham showed strong interest but David Moyes didn’t think he would be a good fit for their style.
That turned out to be the Irons’ loss and Brighton’s gain.
From day one in East Sussex he was a hit. You can spend years sharpening your skills and then when success comes it often happens fast and feels inevitable.
Cucurella was excited to be in the Premier League. Brighton was different from Espanyol, Barcelona, Eibar, or Getafe, but it was a good fit. He loved how Graham Potter saw the game.
By the end of his first season, he’d been named both Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season.
Brighton are renowned for elite recruitment but few players have delivered value on and off the pitch as quickly and effectively as the curly-haired Spaniard.
Chelsea beat Manchester City to his signature
Cucurella’s breakout Premier League season caught the attention of Pep Guardiola, who reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the player.
But once Brighton learned Chelsea were also in the race they raised the price and Manchester City couldn’t match it.
8
Chelsea paid a whopping £60m for him, but like at Barcelona, his start to life in West London was tough.
Yet the lessons and experience of a tough beginning meant he stuck with it instead of jumping at the first opportunity to move.
Manchester United lost two of their left backs and were looking for stop gap options.
And Cucurella, struggling at Chelsea, could have jumped at the opportunity but he stuck and fought his way back from being surplus to requirement to being unstoppable this season.
Everything about him has been exemplary at Chelsea, he’s added to his game, scores goals and defends aggressively.
Now when he doesn’t play there is a feeling that something is missing.
And he might just be adding a Conference League title to his resume this week.
