Dídac and the unforgettable January 28

It was a strange operation, which was surprising in that January 2011 in which Espanyol began to urgently need income due to the mortgage on the RCDE Stadium and its historical debts. All eyes had focused on Víctor Ruiz, transferred to Napoli after a great start to the season. The Italians paid six million euros for the center-back, who played for Calcio and later went through Valencia, Villarreal and now Betis. The current left back of Espanyol did not have the same luck, who ends his contract this summer and who will say goodbye to the club has been the club of his life.

Those last days of January were all rushed and clandestine meetings in the stadium. Like the one they starred in Adriano Galliani, general director of Milan, with Raúl Verdú, the player’s agent, and the Blue and White leaders, who accepted the departure of Dídac Vilà, 21, for three million euros. The player said goodbye with a Facebook message and was barely able to prepare his belongings, in a lightning operation.

But Dídac did not have too many opportunities. He first participated with the Primavera team, the Milan subsidiary, to later make his debut on matchday 38 of the championship against Udinese with everything decided (0-0). That Milan was league champion, so the parakeet left back has a Scudetto in his record.

But the one from Mataró would soon return to Spain, not counting for the technical direction that signed him. He arrived on loan again to Espanyol, where he would play for a course. Later he would return to Italy and end up at Betis and then at Eibar. An adventure for AEK Athens to later experience his third stage as a Blue and White in 2018. A European classification, a relegation, a promotion and a last testimonial course, in which he hardly had any chances in the shadow of Adrià Pedrosa. 11 years ago, Dídac was the big surprise at Espanyol’s winter market.