Álvaro Cortés told HLN: « That was my plan. Pre-season was going well and I spoke to Hansi Flick regularly. He was counting on me for this season, he said. But at the end of the transfer window the club still told me I had to leave. It was nothing personal. That’s just how football works. »
Louise read the paragraph three times, then opened a new tab in her notebook.
Silly question, but: they tell him they’re counting on him, then they tell him to leave, and he says it’s nothing personal. So I went looking for what would be personal, in this job. I asked three people. Nobody could come up with an example.
The rest is a vocabulary lesson. Cortés says he had offers from Spain, Italy and Saudi Arabia, and chose Antwerp on the advice of his brother Guillermo and his agent. According to HLN, his contract has no buy-back clause, but Barcelona hold a first option to buy: the club can match another side’s offer. Cortés nods along. He also mentions Antwerp’s successful sales, Willian Pacho, George Ilenikhena to Monaco, Arthur Vermeeren to Atlético.
And then there is the lunch. In May, a few days after the title party, Hansi Flick asked him at the table whether he was ready to play. Confirmation that he was starting came three hours before kick-off. Barcelona lost 1-0 to Deportivo Alavés, and Cortés calls it the happiest day of his life.
So the team sheet gets handed out over a meal, the confirmation lands three hours before, the team loses 1-0 and that’s the best day of a life. Basketball doesn’t have that, I looked. Anyway, I still have a lot to learn.
It’s true, we checked: HLN.
