Ferran Sarsanedas, 29, recently announced his retirement from football. The midfielder from Amer spent 14 years at Barcelona, including five years with Barcelona B from 2016 to 2021, where he also served as captain. However, his career was largely hampered by knee injuries, which even kept him off the pitch for nearly three years. Despite this, looking back on his career after retirement, he still stated, "I am very satisfied."
What would Ferran Sarsanedas' career have been like without those injuries?
"Who knows? I don't either."
Sarsanedas smiled as he answered this hypothetical question posed by Sport during a quick Q&A at the end of an interview. It's hard to imagine the pain he endured from those cursed injuries: he underwent four knee surgeries and was sidelined for three years.
"It was really tough to see my body constantly unable to recover," Sarsanedas recalled. However, now that he has officially hung up his boots, he can look back at his career with a more comprehensive perspective and unhesitatingly states that he is very satisfied with everything he has achieved.
Sarsanedas spent 14 years at Barcelona, including five years with Barcelona B from 2016 to 2021, where he eventually became captain. He played alongside players like Marc Cucurella, Carles Aleñá, Ruiz, and Gerard Gumbau, and was part of the team that successfully got promoted to Segunda División. He now admits that at the time, he "didn't really realize" what that achievement meant.
Sarsanedas, with his excellent left foot, always maintained a strong sense of responsibility and affection for the Barcelona badge, reminiscent of other La Masia players like Sergi Samper and Marc Casadó. Now, he has calmly brought an end to one phase of his life and is looking forward to the next chapter.
Let's start from the end. You just announced your retirement; are you satisfied with your career?
"I am satisfied with my career. Of course, I wish it could have lasted a bit longer. But we always think: 'Oh my god, without those things, I don't know how high I could have reached.'"
"But sometimes, we don't look at things from another perspective, do we? How many footballers wish they could have reached the heights I did? So, I am very satisfied."
Later, you also played for clubs like Elche B, Prat, and Vilanova. After those injuries, what did it feel like to feel like a footballer again?
"Actually, I almost retired before that. I hadn't played for almost three years. I had even decided: 'That's it, I'm not playing anymore, I'm retiring, because my knee isn't responding at all.'"
"But then, at one point, I managed to recover through a miraculous surgery. I remember the first game I played after almost three years; that feeling was truly incredible."
"During that brief period of playing again, even if it was just at the level of Segunda Federación, honestly, I still enjoyed it very much."
After you announced your retirement, many people in the football world sent you warm wishes, including García Pimienta. You played under him at Barcelona U16, U19, and the B team. What did "Pimi" mean to your career?
"First and foremost, he is an excellent person. I spent many years with him, probably three or four years, so he was probably the coach who coached me the longest."
"I believe he is a coach who left a profound impact on me and our generation of players. Not only in terms of how to be a person, but also in managing the dressing room and learning about football. He has always been a role model for us."
The 2016/17 season was your first with Barcelona B and a turning point in your career. You suffered your first injury, a muscle injury, but the following year, you suffered your first knee injury. When did you start to realize that injuries could change your career?
"It was definitely after the second knee surgery. That's when I started to realize that things were going wrong, and I thought: 'Oh no, oh no, why can't I recover? What's going on?'"
"From that moment on, the whole terrible process began, to put it bluntly. Because it's really hard to see yourself constantly unable to recover."
"Those two or three years were very difficult and very frustrating. Because every time I would think: 'Okay, after this surgery, everything should be fine.' Then I'd start rehabilitation, and it still wouldn't work. This happened through three or four surgeries. However, this experience also taught me a lot in the end."
How did your relationship with football change during this process?
"Indeed, at that time, I didn't quite know how to deal with the situation. Because, as I said earlier, I was always in this cycle of 'hope, disappointment, hope, disappointment'."
"By the third year, when I left Barcelona, things started to change. That year was more of a transition period, and I told myself: 'Okay, we'll use this year to completely recover.'"
"It's interesting that I felt that the year after I left the daily routine of the club was probably the happiest year of my life until then."
You didn't play for almost three years due to four knee surgeries. You previously said in an interview that when a player is injured for two or three years, teams gradually stop contacting you. How did you deal with this situation?
"When you haven't played for two or three years, any team will think you might have retired, that your knee can no longer play. That's normal."
"When you're out of the public eye for about a year, everyone starts to forget you. But I didn't feel particularly strongly: 'Oh my god, no one cares about me anymore, I'll never get that recognition again.' Because throughout the process, I was also learning how to deal with these things."
You spent 14 years at La Masia, almost half your life. If you could only choose one most unforgettable moment, would it be getting promoted to Segunda División with Barcelona B?
"Yes, I think that would be the moment. That was the most exciting moment of my entire football career. But actually, at the time, I didn't truly realize what it meant."
"At that time, I didn't realize: 'You just got promoted to a professional league with the team you've played for your whole life.'"
"It's really amazing. But I didn't fully realize it at the time. Just as I didn't fully realize the preciousness of my youth academy days. I had a lot of fun at La Masia, playing all sorts of games."
"But now I think: 'If I could re-experience that life with the knowledge and maturity I have now, I would definitely cherish it more then.'"
Did you and your teammates at the time see Barcelona B as the final step before joining the first team?
"I think many of us did, but for me personally, I don't think so."
"In fact, ever since I got promoted to Barcelona B, I knew very well that I was never a top prospect for the club. At that time, the club also made many signings, and very few players from the academy made it to the first team. Plus, there were other players in my position who probably had better prospects."
"Of course, when you're in Barcelona B, especially playing in Segunda División, you definitely believe your career can develop well in the future. I knew very well that my future was unlikely to be at Barcelona, but I thought I could probably go to other teams."
"I wasn't even saying I had to play in LaLiga, but maybe in some league abroad, or continue playing in Segunda División. So, at the time, I truly felt that becoming a professional player was completely feasible."
Lamine Yamal, Cubarsí, Bernal... Now we see many academy players getting opportunities and gradually establishing themselves in the first team. Do you think it was harder for academy players from your era to break into the first team than it is now?
"Yamal and Cubarsí are two very special cases. However, there are indeed some other players who, if they had gotten opportunities like these back then, might be playing in the Barcelona first team today and reaching a very high level."
"And now, they might just be playing in Primera Federación or Segunda Federación."
"There are so many players in the lower leagues, and if you put them in any LaLiga team, I believe they would perform well. And vice versa, some LaLiga players, if you put them in Primera Federación or Segunda Federación, might not stand out as much."
"So, luck is also a very important factor in this."
You experienced Barcelona B playing in Segunda División B and Segunda División. Now, Barça Atlètic is in Segunda Federación, a lower league, making it harder to retain young talent. If you were 19, 20, or 21 now, would you choose to stay or leave to find opportunities for further growth?
"I don't know. Actually, everyone's personal and family situations are different, and everyone's personality and priorities are also different."
"But I always believe that as long as there's a chance to stay at Barcelona, then staying is very important."
"Because it has been proven that this is a club with a large number of its own academy players, so it's entirely possible to get an opportunity, and who knows what the future holds."
"And, as long as you're still in Barcelona's youth setup, even if the team is in Segunda Federación, you still have plenty of time to go elsewhere later. So, if it were me, I think I would always prioritize staying."
Not every La Masia player eventually achieves the dream of making it to the Barcelona first team. Do you think the club adequately prepares academy players psychologically for the possibility of not making it to the first team?
"I don't think so. You can never fully prepare for what might happen in the future, whether it's on a football level or in how to deal with everything you might encounter."
"I think how one manages their life and the environment they have outside the club are very important. Of course, the club provides various tools to help you deal with these situations, but I think the friends you have, the family you have, and the people around you are all very important factors."
So, what's next? Will you continue to be involved in football in some way in the future?
"I am currently studying social integration. I do hope to combine it with football in the future, because football is what I've been doing my whole life."
"I believe these two paths can be combined. Ultimately, social integration and fostering social awareness through football are two directions I hope to combine in the near future."
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