“I am very grateful to the club”

Ex-Bayern player Marc Roca spoke about his time with the German record champions. For the 26-year-old, the positive memories outweigh the negative.

“It was an incredible period of development for me. It was a good step in my life – not easy, but I think I’ve grown a lot,” said Roca in an interview with The Athletic.

At the same time, the 26-year-old also reported difficulties in adjusting, especially at the beginning of his time at Bayern. “My German is fine and I had to learn it because from the start all team meetings were in German,” said the Spaniard.

The fact that he had not been able to assert himself with the German record champions in the long term was mainly due to the strong competition in central midfield. “Joshua Kimmich played, I shared a position with him and I have to accept that he was a really important player at Bayern and for the German national team. Sometimes things are like that,” said Roca.

Nonetheless, he always gave his all on the pitch: “When I’ve played, I’ve performed well and I’ve shown myself and everyone else that I can play with these players, that I’m ready to play there. If If the coach thinks differently or prefers other players, I can accept that.”

However, he does not harbor a grudge against the Munich team: “I am very grateful to Julian Nagelsmann and the club.”

Roca joined FC Bayern from Espanyol Barcelona in 2020 but was never able to establish himself there. After two years at FCB, he joined Leeds United last summer. He’s doing much better at the PL club – this season he’s made 27 competitive appearances.