What happened to the English wonderkid Barcelona signed in 2018 and let train with Lionel Messi immediately
Barcelona once signed an English wonderkid from Arsenal and let him train with Lionel Messi following his transfer.
In January 2018, Barca recruited Marcus McGuane from Arsenal and assigned the then-teenager to their B-team.
On the day he was invited to train with the club's first-team, which included Messi, he said: "It feels incredible.
"When you go to first-team training, you go into the dressing room first. That first walk was so exciting. The first person I saw was Sergio Busquets. As a central midfielder, seeing him in the flesh, one of the best in the world on the ball, his grace, technical ability... then I saw (Philippe) Coutinho... then Messi!"
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In March 2018, he played his first game for the Spanish giants, featuring in the Supercopa de Catalunya as a second-half substitute.
McGuane's appearance saw him become the first English player to represent the Catalan side in 29 years since Gary Lineker.
But the midfielder, who was born in London, failed to make an appearance for the club in the La Liga or Champions League. He eventually departed the Camp Nou.
What happened to Marcus McGuane after he left Barcelona
McGuane left Barca by joining Dutch second-tier side Telstar on a season-long loan.
He scored one goal in 16 matches across all competitions before returning to England.
In February 2020, McGuane was snapped up by Nottingham Forest, who were in the Championship at the time of the signing. He initially joined the under-23s squad.
Like his spell in Spain, he never played for Forest in a league match and was once again on the move.
In the summer of 2020, Oxford United came calling, signing McGuane on a season-long loan. He made 21 appearances and clearly impressed Oxford, who made the move a permanent deal in the subsequent summer.
He made 152 appearances during his four years with Oxford and thrived under Liam Manning, who got the best out of the former Arsenal academy star.
Where is Marcus McGuane now
Last summer, McGuane secured the biggest move of his career since his switch to Barca.
He joined Manning's Bristol City for an undisclosed fee, reuniting with his old manager following their spell together at Oxford.
Speaking after joining City, McGuane said he 'owes a lot' to Manning and revealed the manager made him see the sport in a 'different light'.
"When he came into Oxford, he really made me see football in a different light. Every day, the detail he went into and just him on a personal level makes you want to fight for him and work under him," he told BBC Radio Bristol's Sound of the City.
"I feel like I love the way he views football, we're aligned in that. He manages to give me a platform to get the best out of me. For all players, that's all you want wherever you are."
McGuane, now 26, has played 15 games in the Championship (at the time of writing) for the Robins.
Topics: Lionel Messi, Bristol City, Football, FC Barcelona
Nasir Jabbar