Marc Casadó makes Deportivo debut, insists "a lot of things" said about his Barcelona exit "aren't true"

A 22-year-old midfielder trained at La Masia, who just a few months ago was on the radar of half of European soccer, ended up signing for a newly promoted club from Galicia. That's the story of Marc Casadó, and he told it himself at his unveiling as the newest player for Deportivo de A Coruña.

The midfielder, on loan from Barcelona for this season through June 30, 2027, already made his debut in the blue and white shirt on Sunday in the 3-2 win over Villarreal. But it was at the press conference where he really opened up, and not exactly about soccer: he wanted to make clear that "a lot of what was said" about his departure from Barça during the summer transfer window "isn't true."

Casadó didn't fit into Hansi Flick's plans for this season following the arrival of Rodri, and his name circulated around half of Europe for months. The resolution didn't come until the very last day of the window, when Depor swooped in to take him on loan. It was a saga that, as the player himself admitted, took a personal toll on him.

Despite all the noise, he had kind words for the club that developed him. He said Barcelona is the club that has "given him everything up to now," though he was quick to add that his mind is already on Riazor, where, he said, there's "incredible ambition" to put together a good season.

A reunion with Riazor that goes back a while

Interestingly, this wasn't the first time Casadó had crossed paths with Depor. Three years ago, when he was still playing for Barcelona's reserve team and the Galician club had just been promoted to Segunda División, a move to Depor was already on the table. Back then, though, Barcelona opened the door to the first team for him and he decided to stay.

In the end it didn't happen, but I came away from that match at Riazor with an incredible image of Depor, of the stadium, of the fans, of how the game went. That's why, when they offered me the chance to come now, the memory of that match pushed me to make this decisionMarc Casadó

On the soccer side of things, the midfielder said he's confident he can fit into whatever setup Antonio Hidalgo asks of him. "I've talked with the coach and I know what he's going to ask of me and what he isn't. I can adapt to any style of play. Our team knows how to handle itself without the ball, but we can have spells where we keep possession and play good soccer. The important thing is that the team knows how to grind it out when it has to and knows how to keep the ball when it has to," he explained.

As for objectives, Casadó was clear and methodical: first the urgent matter, then the ambitious one. "Like the coach said, the first goal is staying up, making sure this club can spend many years in the top flight. After that, with work, humility and sacrifice, we'll try to pick up as many points as possible to achieve something bigger. The team is motivated and I think we have enough quality to have a really good season," he said.

The summer, he admitted, felt "very long" given the sheer number of rumors linking him to different clubs, several of which were "completely false." He even shared an anecdote that sums up just how surreal those weeks were: while traveling in Tanzania with his phone on airplane mode, his family kept texting him saying he'd signed for this club or that one, while he had no idea whatsoever what was being said back in Spain.

Now, with the transfer done and his debut already out of the way, complete with a win, Casadó begins a new chapter with a newly promoted club that dreams of staying in the top flight for a long time to come.