Braithwaite is not Boateng

Someone who mentions Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali in his presentation shows few complexes. “He is not at Barça to ask the stars for autographs,” says Martin Braithwaite, from Denmark, Mikkel Nohr, editorial director of the specialized website Bold.dk. Braithwaite is convinced that he has “something different” to offer to Barça and has turned these months of confinement and those that remain in competition when LaLiga resumes into a particular challenge of eleven matches to demonstrate that it is capable of playing at Barça. “He does not seem intimidated by playing in a team that includes Griezmann, Messi or Suarez. He has already shown other times that he is a player with character,” explains Mikkel Nohr. In Denmark, the Braithwaite phenomenon is followed with tremendous curiosity. Fifth Danish player to wear the Barça shirt, after Simonsen, Laudrup, Christiansen and Ekelund, from the Scandinavian country are attentive to every move by the former Leganés player.

Despite being a footballer unleashed on the field and in some of his statements, in which he shows infinite security to the outside, Braithwaite has a clairvoyant mind. He knows in which frame he moves and has been aware since he came to Barça for 18 million euros, that his transfer had the express sign and that the adventure can end this summer even if Barça put a 300 million euro clause on him of termination. Braithwaite is willing to accept a very short challenge in time and one that not only wants to enjoy, but also be a participant. To put it in some way, Braithwaite doesn't want to be a Boateng to sign and settle for an absolutely inconsequential role. He wants to compete for his minutes.

Endorsed by Setién, who preferred him over Lucas Pérez, Loren or Ángel, Braithwaite is a player of lower rank than the three that will precede him in eleven, but his game can provide alternatives. He is enthusiastic, he goes to space, he can give legs to an old team in a way and he does not wrinkle. In a competition that will play the eleven days that remain in just over a month, Braithwaite will have minutes for sure, even if it is as a shock. “For any Dane, playing in the heat in Spain in June or July could be a difficult matter. Not for him. Because of his mental strength and because he is in good shape,” Mikkel Nohr concludes. Braithwaite, even more spurred by his cluelessness at the Bernabéu, where he lost sight of Vinicius in the 1-0 move when, seconds before, he had had the goal of his life in his boots, he is hungry for glory if he only has two months left at Barça.