It can be a frustrating position to be in for any player if they’re struggling for regular minutes, and Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen is no different.
The 29-year-old joined the Catalan giants from Ajax in 2016, but has been forced to play second fiddle to Marc-Andre ter Stegen again this season.
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Cillessen has made just 10 appearances in all competitions as a reserve option for Ernesto Valverde, with nine of those coming in the Copa del Rey, which Barcelona went on to win last month.
However, with no La Liga outings and just one solitary run-out in the Champions League in the last group game against Sporting Lisbon when qualification was already secured, it isn’t an ideal situation for the Dutch international to be in.
Fortunately for Barcelona, he sounds like a very professional individual, but it will be interesting to see if his assessment of his situation changes next season if he is still facing the same frustrations.
“I love this club, but I am a professional and I want to play more than ten games in a season,” he told Ziggo Sports, as seen in the video below, but translated by Marca.
“The club are happy with me and I am not the type of player who goes to war with clubs, I have been here for two years, and, for the moment, I will continue.”
Cillessen is undoubtedly a quality option to have as back-up from a Barcelona perspective, but rightly so, having shown his quality previously for Ajax and with the national team, he will be desperate to play regularly at this stage of his career.
Playing for Barcelona is a dream for many players, and he has certainly benefited from the move in the sense that he’s won trophies. However, he’ll understandably want to be playing a prominent role in winning them moving forward rather than a bit-part one as he is now.