Bruno Guimaraes charmed the Barca Press pack but made his feelings clear on Newcastle with a brilliant restaurant quote
Bruno Guimaraes
Bruno Guimaraes trains ahead of tonight's game with Barcelona
(Image: Getty Images)
Bruno Guimaraes' attendance in last night's Press conference captivated the visiting Barca Press pack given his previous links with signing for the La Liga giants.
The Newcastle skipper could have easily used the situation to play for a future move to Barca but brilliantly managed to nail his colours to the United mast, and also cleverly charmed the visiting journalists from Catalonia as part of the bargain!
The likes of Marca, Mundo Deportivo, Sport and El Periódico were all in attendance with Bruno speaking in Spanish to travelling journalists and a translator serving up the quotes in Catalan.
But after being quizzed for the first time on Alexander Isak's exit to Liverpool last night, Bruno was not entertaining any suggestions of a move anywhere - insisting Newcastle was his home now.
When asked by the Barca reporters if he ever came close to signing for the five-times European champions, Bruno said: "There was never any contact.
Content Image
Content Image
"When I was a kid, I always watched Barcelona.
"In Brazil, we watched a lot of La Liga, and I always loved Barcelona.
"They were the players who made me love football. I remember Ronaldinho the most.
"Then came Messi, Neymar, Suárez, Iniesta…I can't wait to play Barca now."
But for Bruno it is all about Newcastle and he quipped: "I never thought I'd go to a restaurant and not pay the bill. I enjoy it, to be honest. I always had faith in my colleagues.
"We've been together for years, and everything has been wonderful."
Bruno was then asked if he dreamt of lifting the Champions League in Newcastle colours and replied: "In the future, it's going to be something that we're looking for.
Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United
Bruno Guimaraes(Image: Getty Images)
"But at the moment we don't want to put limits on our dreams - we just want to play game by game and see what we've got.
"But we're very excited, and hope we can go as far as possible."
"I always look forward and I always look to make history with this club. It's nice to be in the Champions League two times in the last three (seasons) - that's unbelievable for us, so we have to keep going."
Bruno will now be looking for a big performance against the second-placed La Liga side.
As a couple of Barca journalists made there way up to watch Barca train at St James' Park, they were discussing their pitch to their respective desks, and appeared to be playing up the Bruno quotes, commenting: "Cosas bonitas", translating to: "Nice stuff."
Given Bruno's name was up in lights this morning in Marca with a headline reading: "Barcelona made me fall in love with football", the Spanish media seemed happy with a night's work as they headed off what could be considered a balmy autumn night on Tyneside!
Whether Barca players will be able to say the same later remains to be seen, but Bruno warned: "Barca are one of the best teams in the world, and we will have to fight to the last second to get the win."
Here at ChronicleLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Newcastle United coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don't miss out on the latest NUFC news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories.
And, finally, if you would rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Everything is Black and White podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.