Mathieu insults Barcelona board

CAIRO – 25 September 2017: Barcelona ex-defender Jeremy Mathieu will face his teammates in Barcelona when his current team, Sporting Lisbon, plays against Barcelona on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League.

When asked about how he would celebrate if he scored against Barcelona, Mathieu answered, “I don't know. I have a lot of respect for my ex-teammates and the fans. If I celebrate, it will be because of [club president] Josep Maria Bartomeu and [technical secretary] Robert Fernandez, because I think the way they treated me was very harsh."

Mathieu, 33 years old, joined Barcelona in 2014 and stayed three years with the club, where he won many titles before leaving the club this summer to join Sporting Lisbon.

Mathieu spoke about his time in Barcelona, saying, “I played a lot; I won titles; and the only sad thing is that people say I did not play a lot. In my first season, I played 58 percent of games and scored important goals; in the second I played less, say 53-54 percent, which is also not bad, and in the final year it was difficult with the injuries and the lack of confidence from the coach, but that's the way it was."

Mathieu won many titles with Barcelona. He won two Spanish League titles, three Spanish Cup titles and the 2015 UEFA Champions League title.