Keita returns to Barcelona

by Staff Reporter

Wednesday May 29, 2019. 13:00

Former Mali international Seydou Keita returned to Camp Nou on Tuesday, exactly eight years after Barcelona's 2011 Uefa Champions League triumph at Wembley Stadium.

Keita emerged from the bench as an 86th minute substitute in a 3-1 win over Manchester United. Victory secured a second European title for the now 39-year-old in what was an immensely successful playing career.

Talking to Barcelona's official website at the club's museum, Keita showered praise on the club's current captain, Lionel Messi, with whom he shared a changing room for four years in Spain.

"He is an extraordinary player," Keita said. "He's been at an elite level for 10 years but he's still the same. It will be very tough to ever see anything like it."

In total, Keita contributed 22 goals and 15 assists in 188 appearances for Barcelona in his four year spell at the club during which time he won 15 trophies.