Barcelona defender Sergi Roberto reveals where he’d rather play

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Versatile Barcelona star Sergi Roberto has revealed that he prefers to play as a midfielder over his more frequent position of right-back. 

Roberto – who has been with the Catalan club since 2006, back in his youth days – has played a grand total of 194 games in all competitions for Barcelona. NaijaBet.com

This season, Barcelona are on course to win a famous treble of titles in a campaign that has seen them dominate both domestically and in Europe.

They currently sit top of La Liga, nine points clear of second place Atletico Madrid with eight games to play, as well as already securing a place in the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla. NaijaBet.com

And they took a step closer to a Champions League semi-final place with Tuesday night’s 4-1 quarter-final first-leg victory at home to Italian outfit Roma. NaijaBet.com

Roberto has been a regular in the side across all competitions this season, used in a variety of positions to fill in gaps within the Barcelona side when needed. 

Speaking to reporters, reports Football Espana, Roberto admitted that he prefers to play in the middle of the park but is getting used to the right-back position.

“We have played a lot of games and the players are not machines.

“We give 100% in every match but when you have a heavy schedule for months it takes its toll and you can not always be completely fresh. NaijaBet.com

“My preferred position? I would rather play in the midfield as this is what I have always done, although I am becoming more accustomed to playing in the right-back position.

“The semi-finals? First, we need to qualify, there are 90 minutes left of this game and we have a lot of work to do, we cannot afford to relax.” NaijaBet.com

Roberto – where has he played?

This season, Roberto – who identifies himself predominantly as a central midfielder – has played the vast majority of games at right-back.

The Spaniard has started 22 games there in the absence of summer signing Nelson Semedo, who has been in and out of the side this year.

When starting a match, Roberto has only stationed in midfield five times, and even then, this was either on the right side of the Barca midfield or just behind the attackers. NaijaBet.com

Despite his inconstant positioning, he still has acquired decent statistics this season to help support his teammates. So far this campaign, he has produced seven assists, which is already one more than last season’s total.

Last season, Roberto played in 47 matches in total. His ability to produce good performances in a variety of positions means he has already played 42 times this year, meaning he isn’t far off beating last season’s outings. NaijaBet.com

Moreover, Roberto has a 90.6% passing success rate, a strong total after playing so many games this year.