Market value decreased by 20 million
©IMAGO
At the age of 19, Dutch-born US international Sergiño Dest moved from Ajax Amsterdam to FC Barcelona in 2020 for 21 million euros. The rapid rise of the offensively strong full-back was slowed down from the end of October 2021 and the arrival of Xavi, who succeeded Ronald Koeman. In his first Barça season he appeared in 41 games under Koeman and was on the pitch for around 2,800 minutes. Under Xavi there were only 31 games in 2021/22 – also due to injury.
“I felt like I had to play with limitations, that I wasn’t myself. I wanted to join the attack because that is my greatest strength, but he asked me not to go forward,” said the PSV Eindhoven professional in an interview with the Barcelona-based sports newspaper “Sport”.
During the first season with Xavi, not only Dest’s playing time fell, but also his market value from 30 million to 18 million euros. “I don’t think he was honest with me. We had several conversations in which he told me things that I doubted were really true. The summer before I went on holiday he said to me: ‘I’m relying on you, don’t read the press’. And as soon as I came back, he told me: ‘You have to go.'” A loan to AC Milan followed in 2022, where Dest only made 14 appearances, mostly short, as he shuttled between the bench and the stands – in June 2023 his market value fell to 10 million euros.
The turnaround brought a loan to PSV Eindhoven from August 2023, where he found his old strength. “I always knew what I could contribute and when I came to PSV I felt very supported. Bosz had a lot of trust in me and that gave me the motivation I needed to give a thousand percent on the pitch and help the team. The atmosphere was calm, peaceful and it also helped calm my mind so I could do my best. PSV really believed in me,” said Dest, for whom the return to the Eredivisie may have been a step backwards on paper, but it was good for his career.
PSV professional Dest: “I would like to play in one of the five big leagues again”
“I wanted to play in the Champions League and have the chance to get a lot of minutes to improve and continue to grow. I had the feeling that I had to reorient myself. If I had gone to another team, I might not have gotten so many minutes because I came from a loan spell at Milan, where I didn’t play much.” In Eindhoven he was immediately one of the regulars under coach Peter Bosz and showed why he was considered one of the greatest full-back talents in the world in 2020 before a cruciate ligament tear put him out of action in April 2024. That didn’t stop PSV from signing Dest, whose market value has climbed back to 22 million euros, after the loan and giving him a contract that runs until 2028.
Dest is currently undergoing rehab, part of which he is completing in Barcelona, and expects to be ready for action again in February 2025. If his form curve continues to improve, he should go back to a bigger club. “I am very happy and very grateful to PSV, but I am ambitious and would like to play in one of Europe’s big five leagues again. I think I have the level for it and with hard work and consistency I can definitely do it.”
Despite ups and downs, Dest remembers his years at FC Barcelona positively: “It was an incredible and wonderful experience. I will always carry Barça in my heart. It was a shame that it had to end like that because I had the feeling that I could still be useful to the club. But when a new coach comes and has his ideas, you can’t change them.” This summer’s new coach is Hansi Flick and after nine matchdays he is the league leader with 24 points, ahead of champions Real Madrid (21 points).
