People now recognise me in the streets - Vidal
The Barcelona public have begun to take notice of Aleix Vidal in the streets after making his long-awaited debut for the club.
Aleix Vidal says people are now starting to recognise him in the streets after making his debut for Barcelona on Wednesday.
The midfielder made a second-half cameo as Barcelona recorded a 4-1 win over Espanyol in their Copa del Rey round of 16 first leg.
Luis Enrique then handed Vidal his first start for the club in their 4-0 win against Granada in La Liga three days later.
Vidal, an €18million signing from Sevilla in the off-season, has noticed an increase in attention on the streets of the Catalonia capital.
"Up until now, I could pass through Barcelona and my friends would tell me how no-one would say anything to be," he told TV3.
"The day before I played for Espanyol I noted how people were now recognising me."
The 26-year-old is relishing playing for the "best team in the world" but revealed he had his doubts when he heard of interested from the club.
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"I had doubts when I heard Barca were after me, because it has been four of five years of me playing 40 games a season," he said.
"With Barca banned by FIFA [in registering players], I couldn't play for months.
"I'm not lying, but it was a difficult decision. My wife is the one that convinced me. She and a meeting with the coach showed they had a lot of confidence in me."