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It has been 20 years since Pau Gasol left Barça to carve out a path in the NBA.

A path in which he managed to rub shoulders with the greats and win two champion rings

.

Now, he returns to Palau Blaugrana to have the opportunity to put an end to his career from the track, instead of being forced to do so by a serious injury, and has also set a very clear goal: the Euroleague.

"I am not the same Pau from 20 years ago, nor from 10 years ago,

but I am still a special player and I hope to contribute a lot to the team and the club,"

the player stressed in his official presentation as a Barça player.

The passage of time, however, has not undermined its competitiveness one iota.

"

I return with the same ambition and enthusiasm

with which I left 20 years ago," stressed a Gasol who also claimed the positive of the passage of time.

"I have gained experience and maturity. You don't have the spark of before, of youth, but I still have great enthusiasm and a lot of desire to live life.

I come with the desire to continue competing, more than ever, and with the intention of enjoying it"

he insisted.

Very especially, if he manages to collaborate to achieve the European title: "I am very excited to join this great team that already exists and that is in a very good line. One of my aspirations, as the president has already said,

is to be able to help win. the Euroleague, one of the few titles that I am missing ".

"I want to enjoy"

The last two years have been difficult.

Very especially, 2020. "It has been difficult, this pandemic has left us a lot of pain, I have lost very close friends ... But there have also been positive things, I have been lucky to be a father.

All this has made me see the value of be with the people you love

", stressed a Pau Gasol who pointed out the importance of the role of Juan Carlos Navarro in his return to the club and that, for now, he only thinks about the present.

"I am not a person who discards anything. The circumstances are different, but we will try to live them. What I want is to enjoy, I do not think beyond this season," he insisted.

For now, there is no date for his return to the track, but he sees it getting closer and closer.

"We are working well, progressing well, following the plan we established from the beginning.

I have good feelings, I see the light at the end of the tunnel

, but with my feet on the ground, without getting too excited and staying on track. I want to go back. to the track and to be able to play my first official match, "he explained.

"I hope it will be soon. We are approaching important moments of the season and I would like to pick up a rhythm to be able to contribute to the team," insisted a Gasol who, after the presentation, in which the president, Joan Laporta, his family, the captains Pierre Oriola, Nikola Mirotic and Adam Hanga, the coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius and his good friend Juan Carlos Navarro, among others,

finally dressed short in the Barça colors to pose for the photos.

An image that he hopes to be able to show again very soon, but with a game at last at stake.

"I did not want my stage as a player to end with a serious injury

. I want to end up enjoying, playing, and that's why I'm here," he said.

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Know more

  • Pau Gasol

  • Joan Laporta

  • Nikola Mirotic

BasketballPau Gasol, passed medical tests and meeting with Laporta: "It all started with a conversation with Navarro"

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See links of interest

  • 2021 business calendar