Former Barcelona attacker Gerard Deulofeu admits comparisons with Lionel Messi early in his career were “more detrimental than beneficial”.
Deulofeu was hailed as a possible successor to Messi at Barca after his rapid rise through the club’s youth system but failed to live up to the hype, and the Milan loanee feels “too much” was asked of him as “there’s only one” of the Argentine’s kind.
“In the end, [the comparisons] were more detrimental than beneficial,” he told Forza Milan.
“Normally I don’t read newspapers, but that headline I remember well. It created too much expectation among Barcelona fans. There’s only one Messi.
“My future? It’ll be seen to. My dream is in the present, from experience I know it’s best to leave the past behind and focus on the present.
“We’ll see what happens in the future. For now, I just want to enjoy the good time that I‘m having at Milan.
“My idol? Ronaldinho, he was someone I admired when I played for Barcelona. For me, he was always a point of reference.
“[Iker] Muniain? We talk often. We’ve said it’d be nice to play together in the same team one day.”