02-08-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Messi and Neymar's former Barcelona colleague bringing winning mentality to Kitchee
For Roger Riera, the new Kitchee centre-back, it was both a blessing and a curse that his emergence at Barcelona coincided with the club's greatest era.
An awestruck Riera trained with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Andres Iniesta. On the flip side, he could see no way into the Catalans' glittering squad, so he left for Nottingham Forest three months after captaining Barcelona to the 2014 Uefa Youth League title.
'It was always my dream to reach the Barcelona first team, and when we won the youth league it looked great for us, we were looking for the next step,' Riera said.
'But Barcelona were a great team, they were right at the top and it was difficult to reach those levels. Not everyone can do it.'
Catalan Riera spent nine years in the club's famed La Masia academy before moving, aged 19.
'We had one playing style, but they teach you a lot,' he said. 'You get used to winning every week, and I've kept that mentality. They instil strong personal values, and you learn about different cultures, because you play with people from around the world.'
