The father of Sevilla’s latest acquisition Yevhen Konoplyanka, Oleg Konoplyanka, has revealed that his son would one day like to play for the reigning European champios Barcelona.
Yevhen, who previously plied his trade for Ukrainian Premier League side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, became a free agent at the end of the last month and was linked with several clubs over a possible move.
Mark Hughes’ Stoke City and Sevilla were the frontrunners for the Ukraine international and ultimately the reigning Europa League winners tied him to a four-year contract at the Sanchez Pizjuan.
Oleg has revealed that Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid were also interested in his son’s signature, but ultimately the playing style of the Andalusians proved to be decisive in their successful chase for the winger.
"What's most important for us at the moment is that the documents arrive from Dnipro as soon as possible so that he can begin pre-season [with Sevilla]”, Oleg was quoted as saying by Catalan daily Sport.
relatedNewsStory
“It's true that Atletico Madrid were very interested in my son, but we chose Sevilla because of their style of play, which will suit his characteristics much more.”
He further added that his son would one day like to line up for the Catalan giants Barcelona, saying that playing for the reigning European champions remains his main objective.
“The main objective for Yevhen in the future is to play for FC Barcelona, although we understand that is too soon [for that]."
