It’s fair to say that Valentin Barco has been facing plenty of criticism since deciding to leave Boca Juniors for Brighton and Hove Albion in January.
And it seems the latest to join his list of critics is former coach Miguel Ángel Russo, who believes the youngster has moved at the wrong point in his career.
Barco joined Brighton in a $10m deal in the January transfer window, with Brighton eventually activating a release clause in his contract following months of efforts to negotiate a deal with Boca for him.
Leaving in that manner created a huge stir in Argentina, where Barco has found himself being repeatedly criticised for departing.
It seems Russo isn’t focusing on that point, though, and instead believes that it is simply a matter of bad timing when discussing Barco’s move.
He was the coach who initially refused to move Barco up to the senior side at Boca earlier in his career, believing he was too young, and he maintains he’s still too early in his development.
“Today everyone runs for something negative, which is money, but being in Boca and being a First Division footballer, the growth you have is very great,” he said.
“I consider that the right age for him to be able to leave is 25 or 26 years old, because with four or five years as a starter in Boca’s first team then you are at another level, but well, it is difficult for many to understand, because everyone presses.”
