Filipe calm about Barcelona rumours

Over the past days, Deportivo La Coruña left back defender Filipe Luis (23) has talked several times about the rumours linking him with a move to Barcelona (read more here).




Catalan radio station RAC 1
I'm in Brazil waiting for the confirmation. I'll only leave Deportivo to go to a top club and I would like to stay in Spain. If Barça and Depor reach an agreement and everybody is happy, that would be perfect. I've always thought about the national team and to get there, you should play at a top club. I'm ready for it. As a player, I've grown a lot at Depor, especially regarding the defensive aspect of my game.

But until everything isn't finalized I cannot close my eyes and imagine myself with another shirt. I have a contract with Depor and I cannot start dreaming because there's no deal. It sure is an honour that Barcelona is thinking about me. Every player would like to be part of the Barcelona team that has won the treble. I've enjoyed watching them play this season.


Galician radio station radio Galega
I'm calm, what choice do I have? I have a contract with Deportivo and until the president tells me that there's an offer and that he wants me to go, there's no reason for me to get nervous. Until now, nobody said me anything, so I have to stay calm like usual. My agent doesn't call me a lot. He knows that when it's just to speculate, I don't want to know anything about. He'll only call me when there's something concrete, in case Depor would accept an offer. I'm not interested in rumours, so I'm waiting.

But of course the people here in Brazil are asking me about it. People told me what the media are reporting on it, I've seen things. One gets happy and very proud of it because you know you have been doing a good job and that others are recognizing that. That's something that makes me very happy. But I cannot do anything about that, it's not in my hands. It's in the hands of my agent, president Lendoiro, the club that wants me, so it's not up to me to do something. Since I cannot do anything, I'm just gonna be calm, looking at the sea and that's it.

When I arrived, I signed a contract and nobody forced me to do that. When I signed, I knew I could be at Deportivo for five years. If I won't leave, I will happily return to Deportivo. It's a great club, a former Liga champion, something few clubs are. We were seventh last season and we have a great team. I wouldn't have problems to return.


Catalan sports paper Sport
Depor is a great club but I've always dreamed about and prepared myself to play one day in a club that competes for all trophies. Barça is the best team in the world, they've won everything and they're the team to beat. After five years in Europe, I'm ready to make this step.

I think that I have the right profile to play in the current Barça defense. When you play at a mid-table team, you have to defend more, while when you're playing at a big club, you have more possibilities to show all your qualities because you have more ball possession. My style to defend is maybe similar to that of Dani Alves, but we play differently, he's more someone who will finish an action, when I reach the goal-line, i'm more looking for the cross. We're different. I'm Filipe and I have my own personality.

At all the clubs I have played for, I've always had to fight for my place. At Deportivo for example, it wasn't easy to win myself a spot in the team. I have total confidence in my qualities because I've grown a lot during those two years at Depor. I have four more years on my contract, so Deportivo has every right to ask a certain fee for my transfer. Nobody foreced me last year to sign a five-year contract. I did it because I wanted it, so I cannot start a fight with Deportivo one year later.


Catalan radio station Ona FM
I want to go to a Spanish top club and Barça is at this moment the best club in the world. I'm better prepared than ever to deal with the pressure of a top club. I don't know what would happen. A player has to compete for a spot and one wants to play always. I played all games with Depor and if I leave, I will keep on fighting like I always do.

The president is entitled to ask the fee he wants since there's a contract that nobody obliged me to sign. Depor treated me as if they were my family, they took care of me. They know what I want, we already talked several times about it and I will keep on doing that. I wish to stay in Spain and go to a top club. Spain is the country I like most, I'm totally adapted to the game of the Liga and to the language. I don't want to leave Spain.

It's very difficult to be part of the Brazilian national team but I have this ambition. That's why this would be an excellent move and I would have more options. On the right we have the best full-back in the world but at the left there's less competition. That's why I think that I can do it and I hope to be able to occupy that spot in the national team.


Read more:
Filipe: "I'm totally prepared for the pressure"
Deportivo rejects bid for Filipe
Filipe could sign five-year deal on Monday