Emerson Royal joined Barcelona last summer to presumably be an alternative to Sergiño Dest at right back. The club bought him back from Betis, where he had performed at a high level and had shown signs of being a more than valid player for the elite. However, on the last day of the market, Tottenham called the Camp Nou offices and offered 30 million euros to acquire the Brazilian’s services. Then, Barça, in need of cash and with problems registering players, did not think about it and got rid of him despite the fact that he did not even have time to complete more than 90 minutes with the Blaugrana elastic. Now, time is beginning to agree with the leaders’ decision and the player is harshly criticized in England.
Economically, the operation left no doubt. However, it was questioned whether he was prepared to be a real alternative to Ronald Koeman’s band, ahead of the aforementioned Dest or Sergi Roberto. It was his turn to prove it in the Premier League, visiting the Tottenham shirt. Due to physical strength and display shown during his time as a Betis player, it seemed that he would not need too much adaptation. What’s more, eleven days after arriving he already became the starting right back and was a regular in the first months of the season on that side.
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With the arrival of Antonio Conte at the helm, has lost prominence, also derived from the fact that its level has not reached the expected level. But this Tuesday has come to the fore for being fully in the photo of the Middlesbrough goal, which resulted in the elimination of Tottenham from the FA Cup. The Brazilian came out in the second half and barely had an impact on the match. It really did add an important impact, but rather negative. Completely absent in the play, he was left behind the rest of his teammates and broke the offside. Seconds later, Coburn scored to the fury of Conte and the fans of a team that is fully aware that one of its few remaining chances of contending for a title this season has slipped away.
Spurs fans were especially critical of the mistake and lack of attitude of the former Betis player. They even wrote sentences like “It is an absolute tragedy”, “He is, without a doubt, the worst player I have ever seen” or “The leaders of Barcelona are still laughing that Tottenham pay 30 million for Emerson Royal”. Time seems to have shown, although he still has a wide margin for improvement, that the Blaugrana club made a golden deal by letting him go. There are nuances: the right-back position is precisely the one that has generated the most headaches for Koeman and Xavi so far this season, due to Dest’s irregularity, Sergi Roberto’s bad timing and injury problems. For Emerson, thousands of miles away, it’s not been an easy season either..