Sometimes I play central midfield but on the right and today I was on the left side, where I am most comfortable. This had led to him playing mostly as a right-back for Barcelona, which is how Luis Enrique used him in his final season, even though he is naturally a midfielder.
Those other positions have included right winger, central midfield, defensive midfielder, left-back, and even centre-back. Sergi Roberto is a clear favourite of Ernesto Valverde because he plays him whenever he can due to his, versatility, intelligence and what he offers in possession with his dribbling and passing.
Marktwertverlauf von Sergi Roberto (FC Barcelona). More realistically, his understanding how long-time teammates and fellow La Masia graduates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Gerard Piqué operate makes him a key cog.All that said, over the last six seasons, most Culés would agree that right-back has consistently been a position where the Blaugrana may be outmatched by the best clubs in the world. Culés hear it all the time – like an old-wise tale that isn’t that old and wasn’t that wise. Alles über Sergi Roberto: Transfers, Gehalt, Erfolge, Statistiken im Klub und im Nationalteam.
It wasn’t a mark of genius for Luis Enrique to try Sergi Roberto out at right-back in the summer of 2015. Ernesto tells that Roberto's abilities to play in midfield were caused by 'lack of dynamism'. But if the club did pick one for him this summer (and had a coach with a long-term future at the club in charge), it might help the club make some transfer decisions. Sergi Roberto has been talking about his best position at The versatile La Masia graduate has shared the right-back slot with Nelson Semedo over the last couple of seasons but feels he is best used on the left of midfield, according to “Tactically, it has been a while since I played there. The Catalan had not started since the 2-0 win over Leganes due to a rib injury but played all 90 minutes at the Estadio de la Cerámica.Manager Quique Setien was pretty impressed by the 28-year-old and singled him out for praise in his post-match “He was spectacular.
With Frenkie de Jong returning soon, the best midfield trio may still be Roberto, de Jong, and Busquets supporting Suárez, Messi, and Griezmann.If, and this is a big if, Roberto’s performances in midfield convince the club to move on from some midfielders than the Spaniard could stay there. The Frenchman has struggled for goals in 2020 but scored a fine lob from a Lionel Messi backheel and looked far brighter.Barcelona’s much-improved display means Setien is unlikely to make too many changes for their next fixture against Espanyol, and Roberto and Griezmann have certainly given their manager a pleasant selection headache.
Valverde also outlines Roberto's youth experience of playing a midfielder. When the club’s personnel needed him to fill the right-back spot, he did it, and did it well.
Roberto put in an impressive performance in midfield, while Griezmann ended his recent goal drought with a Roberto came in for praise for his performance against Villarreal. But even if Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal find new clubs, would it really be better for the club to hurt the depth at right-back to take away minutes from a combination of Riqui Puig, Carles Aleñá, potentially Pedri, and any other young midfielder that could do a similar job?Roberto is 28-years-old now – if he doesn’t have a permanent position yet he never will. When the club’s personnel needed him to fill the right-back spot, he did it, and did it well.