Barcelona are all set to lock horns with Villarreal later this weekend in La Liga, once they are done with their UEFA Champions League clash against AS Monaco tomorrow.
The weekend clash will be a special one for Villarreal winger Ilias Akhomach, as he will come up against his boyhood club.
A La Masia product, the Moroccan winger made his first-team breakthrough at Barça under Xavi Hernandez, but opted to leave the club in 2023 as a free agent in search of regular minutes.
Ilias has zero regrets
As he gets set to face his boyhood club this weekend, Ilias was asked during an interview if he has any regrets about leaving Barcelona, especially considering the number of opportunities that youngsters from La Masia are getting now.
In response, the Villarreal attacker said: “I don’t regret it at all. It’s a decision that was 100% clear to me. I am very grateful to Barça because I grew up there. But I don’t regret anything. I wanted to come here.”
Ilias did have some praise for Barcelona’s La Masia gem Lamine Yamal who has emerged as the favourite to win the Golden Boy award, calling him a great footballer and a very decisive player.
“Lamine is a great player. Very decisive in the matches. He had a spectacular European Championship. He is a great footballer. I hope he will not be successful and unlucky against us,” said the winger.
A special match
Looking forward to the weekend encounter against Barcelona, Ilias admitted that it is always special for him to go up against his boyhood club, saying:
“It’s a very special match for me. It already was last season. I spent my whole childhood there and I have great memories there. Everything I took away from there is positive.”
At the same time, he also admitted that it will not be easy for Villarreal to lock horns with the Catalans, who have won five in five in La Liga this season.
“It’s always complicated to play against FC Barcelona. They are the league leaders. We have clear ideas and we’re training to make sure they come out of the game. We’re going to do everything we can to win the game.”
“We are two teams who play well, who go forward. I expect a very nice game,” Ilias added.
