How Real Madrid, Barcelona affected me – Hagi

 Romanian legend Gheorghe Hagi has revealed that both Real Madrid and Barcelona gave him an orientation on how to be at his best as a footballer.

He gave insight into what it was like to play for both La Liga giants and described it as an honour to represent the two rivals.

Hagi, now manager of Liga I club Farul Constanța, was widely regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in the 1980s and 1990s.

He played for Real Madrid between 1990 and 1992, and at that time he was regarded by many as the greatest Romanian footballer ever.

Now 58, the former midfielder played 84 games for Los Blancos, scoring 20 goals and providing five assists, helping them win the 1990 Supercopa de España.

The ex-Romania international then became one of 33 players in football history to play for both Real Madrid and Barcelona by joining the Blaugrana in 1994.

Hagi made 51 appearances for the Catalan side, scoring 11 goals and providing five assists.

Hagi spoke with FourFourTwo, saying: “Both clubs taught me a lot. I left both of them better than when I came, in many ways: I learned the culture; I was educated in their spirit; they brainwashed me and put inside my brain the idea that I could be the best in the world.

“After the Romanian Revolution [in 1989], I kept in mind only one thing: that I could become the best and play anywhere, something I couldn’t do before 1989.

“It’s impossible to separate them; I feel proud and honoured to have represented both.”