Barcelona have been the key contributors to the Spanish national team over the last 15 years and the club itself have sought out the stars that don’t already play for them. One of the most impressive in the current La Roja side is RB Leipzig attacker Dani Olmo.
The 24-year-old was one of Luis Enrique’s fixtures at the World Cup, seeing as much as any of the outfield players. His unusual career path, leaving La Masia at the age of 15 to join Dinamo Zagreb, before moving to Leipzig, has served his development well.
However the links to a return to Spain, where Olmo has never played professionally, have always persisted. In an interview with BILD, Olmo swatted aside a question on his future.
“I have a contract until 2024. Right now I don’t think about that, only about the next games. We have three competitions ahead of us. Things happen so fast in football, things can change all the time. I have my adviser who takes care of it. Me I only focus on football.”
Marca carried his comments, but Olmo was willing to admit that he wanted to test himself in La Liga at some point.
“I want to go back to Spain some day, it would be great. It is my country, my league. My family and friends live there. But I am not only tied to Spain. The most important thing for me is to play in a club where I feel loved and important. Like here in Leipzig.”
He was also happy to leave a bone out for Barcelona and their fans, with whom he has been linked often in the past.
“I played for Barcelona for six years when I was young. It will always be a home for me. A lot of my friends from the national team play there.”
Olmo has the talent and the mentality to succeed at one of the major sides in Spain, and perhaps only circumstance will stop him. At 24, he could easily have another big move in him before returning to Spain for some of his prime. It is worth remarking that Olmo not only came through at La Masia, but is from a town (Terrassa) just 35km away from Barcelona, the same town as Xavi Hernandez.
