Chadi Riad: “I cried with emotion after my debut”

After a few games called up with the first team due to many casualties in the defense axis, and no Ronald Araujo or Jules Koundé, Chad Riyadh he repeated on the list to travel to Pamplona, ​​where he finally made his debut. Nor is it a testimonial debut, as the Barça Atlètic centre-back, his 19 yearscame on in the 89th minute to defend the 1-2 scoreline achieved shortly before by raphinha.

If not Piquewas ejected at halftime for his complaints to Gil Manzano after coming off the pitch from the bench, and co Eric Garcia still not 100% Xavi Hernandez He chose the young player born in Palma but international with the Moroccan U-20, a central profile that Terrassa did not have in the squad because he is left-handed, and explained how he experienced his debut in statements to the club media: ” I was on the bench, I didn’t expect it and they told me to come out and warm up and I took 20 seconds. The truth is that I was very nervous, but my teammates helped me calm down and supported me a lot, inside and off the field And thank you very much.”

Riyadhwhich is compared to Ronald Araujo because of his commitment, battle-hardened style and mastery of the aerial game, and where the coaches pointed out that he had a good exit from the ball, he did not hide it, that the day after his debut he was unstoppable. the tears of happiness: “They congratulated me and I cried with emotion because this is something that I have worked for a long time. I felt very happy, I have dreamed of this since I was a child and I want to thank Xavi the trust he gave me to get those minutes from me at El Sadar”.

The young Barça central defender also stood out, as he recalled when he stepped on the pitch: “First I thought of God to help me as much as possible in those last minutes and my family, who came with me throughout my life and they have supported me the most.” And he made it clear that he kept his feet on the ground and returned to focus on the reserve team: “The debut is a small reward but now I am focused on my team and the coming games”.

First year in the subsidiary after his move to Sabadell

This is the first season of Chad Riyadh in the subsidiary, where he stood out after being a key player last year with Juvenil A, winning the League and the Champions Cup, and where he also continued to play in Youth League matches. Exactly, in the match in Milan against Inter in the Youth Champions he also showed his power in the air -he is 1.86m tall- scoring the first goal against the ‘nerazzurri’.

From the base football of Mallorca, he came to Barça in 2019 to strengthen the Juvenil B and in his second year as a Barça player, in 2021, he was loaned to Sabadell to strengthen the Harlequin Juvenile on his return to the Division of Honor. Despite this, he spent a good part of the course under the orders of Antonio Hidalgofriend of Xavi and he made his debut in the Second Division and in the Copa del Rey, before returning this summer to the discipline of Barça, where he has been strong.