First team

MERCADO ON ABP: 'I WAS TOLD I'D BE OUT FOR TWO MONTHS BUT I FELT A LOT BETTER AND I COULD RETURN'

30/10/2018

'Playing for Sevilla was my boyhood dream, I always told my grandmother than I would never stop until I got into Europe,' explained the Argentine

Gabriel Mercado, one of Sevilla FC's captains for this 2018/19 season, was the star on SFC TV's 'A Balón Parado' on Tuesday night. The Argentine started off speaking about his arm injury that he has recently recovered from: 'I saw Escudero's images and they are really shocking. When it happened to me I didn't think it was anything serious and I hoped I wouldn't miss too many matches. They told me I'd be out for two months, but thankfully we managed to shorten that down.'

'I'd never been in a surgery before for an operation. After only seven days I started to train again and feel good on the pitch. The recovery was going really well and I was feeling less and less pain and I could get back to training,' Mercado said regarding how his recovery went.

The Argentine was able to play 90 minutes again on Thursday in the Europa League and scored one of the goals: 'With the goal against Akhisar I knew that I had to be prepared incase the 'keeper made a mistake. The ball wasn't for me, I had another role, but the ball fell to me after being meant for another player. I really wanted to score, my family was at the pitch and I wanted to get a goal and put in a good performance for them.'

'I always said to my grandmother that I would not stop until I got into Europe. I thank Monchi for bringing me to Sevilla.'

Regarding his philosophy in life and in football, Mercado explained, 'I like to remember the past, the people who helped and accompanied you. These moments in football are important, whether they be good or bad ones, I am grateful for this chance because I've loved football ever since I could think for myself. I do everything I do with passion, it's more than a responsibility. I love going to training, I arrive early and I leave late with my teammates.

Gaby Mercado had some very kind words to express what Sevilla meant for him: 'For me, Sevilla is a boyhood dream. I always told my grandmother than I would never stop until I got into Europe. I thanked Monchi when he went to Roma for bringing me here, he helped me make my dream come true.

You can watch the full programme on Sevilla FC's official YouTube channel.