No players from the United States had ever played for Barcelona before this season but now Sergino Dest and Konrad de la Fuente are in the fold at the Camp Nou.
Dest joined the Blaugrana from Ajax earlier this month and he has now become his nation’s first player to play for the club.
De La Fuente was born in Miami to parents from Haiti and has starred in the Blaugrana youth set-up in recent years, and is just one year apart from Dest, who was born in Surinam – the Dutch colony in South America – but grew up in New York.
De La Fuente- who is yet to make his senior debut but has impressed in friendlies – joined La Masia aged 12 and is now said by Marca to be inseparable from his international colleague.
Dest became the first player from his nation to play a competitive match for Barcelona during their draw against Sevilla a week ago.
Former Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Kasey Keller was the first to play in the Primera – making 51 appearances between 1999 and 2001 – and was followed by striker Jozy Altidore, who played for Villarreal.
Defenders Oguchi Onyewu and Shaquell Moore – of Malaga and Levante respectively – also played in La Liga ahead of Dest’s debut.
Image via Marca
