When Aubameyang promised his grandfather he’d play for Real Madrid, not Barcelona
The final El Clasico of the 2021/22 season is taking place this Sunday night and it’ll be the first opportunity for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to take part in this special fixture. This has long been a dream for the Gabon international, although he had always imagined he’d do so while wearing the white of Real Madrid.
Aubameyang’s family on his mother’s side are from Spain, specifically from El Barraco, a town just 100 kilometres from Madrid in the province of Ávila, with a population of just 2,000 people. This is the town where the striker’s mother is from and where his grandfather Emiliano lived when he was still alive.
His grandfather loved football and Aubameyang once made him a promise to play for Real Madrid, the club of Hugo Sánchez, who inspired Auba’s famous somersault celebration.
Work ⚡️🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/V60kFPCMDN
— AUBA⚡️ (@Auba) March 9, 2022
Although Aubameyang won’t be wearing the Real Madrid shirt in this Sunday's Clasico, instead turning out for their biggest rivals, he knows that his grandfather will be just as proud. “Wherever he’s watching on from now, I think he’ll be happy that I’m here wearing the Blaugrana colours,” he explained as he joined the Catalan club at the end of the winter transfer market.
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Aubameyang’s goals at the Bernabeu
This won’t be Aubameyang’s first match at the Bernabeu. Far from it. He has already played there three times for Borussia Dortmund in Champions League matches against Real Madrid and has scored three goals.
The first visit was in the 2013/14 quarter-finals, but that resulted in a 3-0 loss for the German side at the Bernabeu. Then, in 2016/17, he scored one and assisted the other in a 2-2 group stage draw in the Spanish capital, before he scored both of Borussia Dortmund’s goals in a 3-2 loss at the Bernabeu the next year in the 2017/18 group stage.
He hasn’t yet won at the Bernabeu, then, so would love to finally do so in this Sunday’s Clasico.
