Moriba made his long-awaited senior debut for Barça at the start of the year and hit the headlines after netting his first goal for the club in a 2-0 win against Osasuna on March 6.
Moriba was close to joining Manchester City in 2019
Ilaix Moriba’s father has revealed that he cancelled a flight to Manchester as soon as the midfielder was about to join Man City in 2019. Moriba made his long-awaited senior debut for Barça at the start of the year and hit the headlines after netting his first goal for the club in a 2-0 win against Osasuna on March 6. Moriba is now being tipped to become a star for the next generation of the Blaugrana. But his father claims his career path might have turned out differently if he hadn’t intervened when Man City tried to sign him two years ago. Mamady Kourouma told reporters: “Negotiations with Barsa regarding his first professional contract did not progress. We met with Txiki Begiristain, and he explained his whole project to us.
Ilaix’s father wanted him to be an example and guide for future generations of Barcelona
“We liked it because he got a lot of bet on him. After a few weeks, we had tickets to go to Manchester and sign the contract. I cancelled it in the morning when we had to go there. I wanted him to be an example and a guide for future generations of Barca. His friends were gone. If he stayed, it was proof that Barca was betting on the youngsters. We managed to reach a deal where we all came out winning”. Moriba joined Barça’s academy in 2010 after a stint at Espanyol. And has since worked his way up to the first-team level. Ilaix broke into the club’s B team at 17, earning comparisons with Manchester United star Paul Pogba for his physicality, technical ability and vision.
Similarities have also been drawn between Moriba and City legend Yaya Toure, who won two Premier League titles at Etihad Stadium after joining the club from Barcelona at the height of his career. Man City hoped that Moriba would follow in the footsteps of Toure. But he chose to continue his development at the Camp Nou, making committing his future to the Blaugrana until 2022. Moriba will be back in contention for Ronald Koeman’s team when Barça host Huesca in LaLiga on Monday night. He can also play when the Spanish giants travel to Real Sociedad five days later.