Deulofeu: he played with Messi and still adores Ronaldinho

The Spaniard Gerard Deulofeu, who was signed by Udinese in the recently finished transfer period, acknowledged that he "misses the pitch very much" and that he has worked hard in the last few months to recover from the serious cruciate ligament injury he suffered in February with Watford.

"I feel different from when I was in Milan (2017). Now, after two and a half years at Watford, I think I'm a completely different player. I want to help the team and we'll see what happens, I've worked hard in the last seven months," he acknowledged in an interview broadcast this Tuesday by Serie A on its website.

"I missed the pitch a lot," added the Spaniard, who came through the youth system of Barcelona.

Deulofeu, 26 years old, was injured last February 29th during a Watford-Liverpool match in the Premier League, and he left the pitch on a stretcher and with oxygen. He tore the cruciate ligament of his right knee and has not played since then.

He expressed his gratitude for the opportunity given to him by Udinese, a club that, he stressed, impressed him with the quality of their stadium, the Dacia Arena, and the training facilities.

In the interview, Deulofeu reviewed his time at Barcelona and described Lionel Messi as "an incredible person", although he admitted that his favourite player is the Brazilian Ronaldinho.

"For me, Ronaldinho is the best player ever. I met him. I went to see a game at Camp Nou and he was sitting next to me. It was a wonderful experience," he said.