Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen has revealed that he was amazed to hear that the club were interested in signing him, according to the Daily Express.
The former Arsenal star joined the Catalan giants back in the summer of 2014 after spending five years with The Gunners.
He made over 150 appearances for Arsene Wenger’s men, but during his final season in north London injury restricted him to just seven first team appearances.
But despite that, Barcelona still made their move to sign him, and the Belgian international has admitted that he was stunned by their decision to bring him on board.
“I was stunned, to be honest,” he told FourFourTwo. “In the same way that I was surprised when I was given a chance in the first team at Ajax as a youngster and when Arsenal came calling a few years later.
“It’s every footballer’s dream to play for such big clubs, so of course I was excited. My situation at Arsenal helped to speed up the negotiations.
“I only had one year left on my contract, so it was their last chance to receive a transfer fee. And since I hadn’t played much, they weren’t really reluctant to let me go.”
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