It is the game that took him to Barcelona's famed La Masia academy as a child and European glory as an adult. Deulofeu desperately wants to feel that rush again, to complete what he feels would be the longest recovery ever. Deulofeu squeezes each hand into a fist and crunches his knuckles together to replicate his right knee. After coming off the bench against Sampdoria some 37 months ago, he could feel the knee giving way and asked to be taken off. "I played 15 minutes," says Deulofeu.

Source: BBC February 15, 2026 15:51 UTC