Todibo says he'd rather play in the French 4TH tier over sitting on Barca bench

Jean Todibo would rather be almost anywhere over the Nou Camp sidelines, admitting he'd prefer playing French fourth division football than be starved of game time by Barcelona.

The 21-year-old centre-back almost has more loans than appearances since signing for the Catalans, playing just five games before stints at Schalke, Benfica and now Nice.

Todibo spent the first half of 2020/21 in Portugal but failed to make a single Liga NOS appearance, leading Barca to terminate the deal and pack him off to the French Riviera in January, where he's finally playing a key role in defence.

If the Frenchman returns to LaLiga this summer Todibo has no interest in bench warming again, admitting he'd rather play for minnows Sedan Ardennes.

'It sucks to go to Barcelona and not play. I prefer to wear the Sedan jersey and play rather than go to Barcelona and not play,' Todibo told L'Equipe.

'Already you have less criticism at Sedan. The presentation at Barcelona, it's madness, but I only played five games, it's bogus in real life.

'I won La Liga [in 2019], but I didn't help the team, I played when we had won the title! I think I can do better.'

A reported £7.3m option-to-buy clause lies in the Nice agreement, a slashed price from the £21m figure Schalke passed-up on last summer.

Not that Todibo will care if it provides him an escape-route from stagnation at Barcelona.

The youngster – born two days before the 21st century began – still has plenty of potential to realise, having enticed the Catalans into a €1m signing while still a teenager in Toulouse.