Ricky Rubio: I was in the dark. We are back

Today was Ricky Rubio’s day in Barcelona. The player signed his contract with the Blaugrana and was presented to the press. His debut in the EuroLeague on Friday has been ruled out due to the injury he sustained in Spain, an overstretched left knee.

“I was in the dark, but with work and the help of professionals you can get out. A word, a hug, an ‘I’m here’, everything helps. I saved myself and now I am calm. I am proud of myself. I am giving basketball another chance”.

“We are back,” he told the press.

Rubio has only signed for the remainder of the season and has agreed with the club to terminate his contract if things do not go as planned. “I will be 100 per cent committed, but if at some point the situation goes in a different direction, I will have to leave. We will see”.

“When I left for the NBA, I didn’t think about whether I would come back or not. Life is unpredictable and as much as you can make plans, life changes them very quickly. Retiring to Barça? I will take it one year at a time. Right now I am only thinking about this season.

On his return to Barça, Ricky hopes to “enjoy the world of basketball in a sustainable way and help the team achieve its goals”. As for the Paris Olympics, he was reluctant to talk too much. Until yesterday my head was in the window, when the season is over we will see what the next challenge will be.

For president Joan Laporta, ‘today is a special day for Barça and for the world of basketball. Ricky Rubio is coming back to Barça and he is coming back to help. We wanted him to come back and play for us. It was a dream for you to come back to Barça. You are talented, but you are also an exceptional person and you give us a lot of strength. You also have an extraordinary spirit.

Ricky admitted that the fact that his new coach, Roger Grimau, his assistant, Víctor Sada, and the section manager, Juan Carlos Navarro, were all former members of the Euroleague-winning team of 2010 “helped me make the decision to come back to Barça”.

His return to training was no picnic. “I had very strange feelings, but I took them as a game. I played to find myself and feel comfortable. The dressing room helped me a lot by treating me as one of them. It seems obvious, but in the professional world egos come into play and I think I was right to choose Barça as the place to return to.