By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Barcelona captain Alex Abrines thinks that his club made the right call to not finalize the deal with forward Mario Hezonja despite an agreement between the two sides.
“A guy can’t come out making these statements when in theory he had already signed, but well, in the end, they are assumptions,” Abrines said per multiple Spanish media reports. “I have already shared a locker room with him and we were both very young and we weren’t together for many years, but he was a great player. The situation is what it is and as far as I’m concerned, the correct action has been taken.”
Abrines is referring to the comments Hezonja had made after Real Madrid won the Spanish ACB championship. The Croatian forward mentioned then that he “would like to give back to the people, to my club, to Real Madrid, many titles in the coming years. I hope it happens.”
Shortly after these statements it was reported that there was a deal in place between Hezonja and Barcelona. The Blaugrana eventually didn’t proceed with actually adding Hezonja, reportedly due to the statements he made about his devotion to Real Madrid.
“They said that he was half signed and then you come out with those statements, obviously as a Barça player first, not as captain, I understand,” Abrines commented. He and Hezonja were teammates at Barcelona from 2012 to 2015. “Although as captain too, I completely understand the discontent of the Barça fans.”
Hezonja later announced on social media that he re-signed with Real Madrid. The contract reportedly includes NBA buyout clauses that the player can exercise until July 19.