PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG has become a league winner for the first time in his career – despite playing for just eight minutes at Barcelona.
The Catalan club were crowned La Liga champions on Sunday night after a 4-2 away win at rivals Espanyol.
EPABefore his move to Chelsea in September 2022, Aubameyang sneaked in a single appearance in Barcelona’s team this season[/caption]
And Aubameyang could be recognised as part of the winning squad despite his limited involvement in Barcelona‘s successful campaign.
Before his ill-fated move to Chelsea last summer, Aubameyang came off the bench for Jordi Alba in the final few minutes of Barca’s opening league game against Rayo Vallecano.
That small cameo in the 0-0 draw may alone be enough to earn the striker credit for the league victory.
In the Premier League a minimum of five league appearances are needed to allow a player to be considered part of the winning squad.
But this rule is not the same elsewhere in Europe and means Aubameyang could be included as a league winner in La Liga’s records.
It would prove to be a silver lining for the star after a dreadful campaign at Chelsea.
The 33-year-old has made just 21 appearances for the Blues and contributed just three goals.
He was recruited by his former manager at Dortmund Thomas Tuchel to try and fix Chelsea’s long-standing scoring issues.
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But within weeks of his arrival, Tuchel would be dismissed and Aubameyang would watch Graham Potter, Bruno Salter and Frank Lampard stand in the dugout over the following months.
But he still failed to become a permanent fixture for any of those managers and likely won’t be at Stamford Bridge for the arrival of the incoming boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Few would have predicted such a calamitous spell after the forward’s electric form for Barcelona last season.
After arriving mid-season from Arsenal, the former Gabon international hit 11 goals in 17 La Liga games.
The Spanish side have been linked with a move for their ex-striker, who joined in with his former teammates’ celebrations after March’s El Clasico win over Real Madrid.