Former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol believes Everton central defender Yerry Mina was unlucky during his stint at the Catalan club.
The Colombian defender only lasted seven months at the Blaugrana following a January transfer from Brazilian club Palmeiras, before joining the English side.
Now 24, Mina made just six first-team appearances for the Catalan giants before impressing at the summer World Cup, with Barca reportedly making a €19m profit on the player.
“It is not easy for a player to come in and succeed at Barcelona,” Puyol told reporters at an event in Indonesia, as cited by Marca.
“For defenders coming in from elsewhere you need to adapt your game and learn a new way of playing, it’s not easy with everything else that is going on with you.
“Yerry has great players in front of him like Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti, sometimes in football it does not work out the way you would like.”
