Only once you step inside Barcelona’s storied old stadium do you begin to understand the stage that once filled a young Anthony Gordon’s imagination.
Beyond the turnstiles, the streets surrounding the ground still carry the unmistakable look of a building site. Cranes loom above the skyline, road barriers funnel the traffic and heavy equipment sits scattered along the pavements.
The redevelopment of the Spotify Camp Nou remains unfinished, its transformation still unfolding piece by piece.
In that sense, it offered an appropriate backdrop to Gordon’s first evening in his new surroundings. Like the stadium itself, he is still being shaped — though there is an obvious urgency about his desire to make everything click.
For 80 minutes on his first outing in Barcelona’s blue and red at his new home, the 25-year-old from Liverpool — signed for £78million in the summer — tore around the pitch with relentless energy, stopping only briefly to lift his shirt, wipe the sweat from his face and set off again.
Anthony Gordon’s humility and tactical understanding have made a strong early impression on Barcelona’s coaching staff
The winger is settling in well with his new team-mates, though some conversations take place in Catalan, a language he does not speak despite working to improve his Spanish
An offside flag robbed him of an assist, and when his clearest sight of goal arrived early in the second half, he rushed the finish and sent the ball over the bar. Even so, there were enough encouraging signs to suggest Gordon is already beginning to find his place.
There is also a promising relationship developing on the field with Barcelona’s chief conductor Pedri, as well as with Spanish starlet Lamine Yamal. Gordon and Pedri shared a warm embrace after the final whistle of Barca’s 2-0 victory over Athletic Club, suggesting they are developing a close friendship off it, too.
And with Rodri making his Barcelona debut as well, Gordon now has another of Spain’s finest players alongside him.
There were also small signs of frustration. Early runs were caught offside, while there were hands on heads when a ball failed to land where he had intended.
Since he was a young boy, it has been Gordon’s dream to play for Barcelona. Such was the intensity of that dream that he practised Spanish every day with his physio in Newcastle, telling him that one day he would make it to Barcelona.
For a brief time, it seemed as though that dream might be put on pause. Two years ago, Liverpool attempted to sign Gordon, with a medical even arranged in Germany during Euro 2024, only for the deal to fall through.
It took him time to get over it, while Eddie Howe helped him rediscover his focus. Gordon returned to his best towards the end of last season, capped by some big performances for England at the World Cup, including a goal in the semi-final defeat against Argentina.
This summer, there was interest from Bayern Munich, as well as tentative approaches from Arsenal and Liverpool. Bayern believed they were close to a deal but Gordon was viewed as a back-up option to Luis Diaz. It wasn’t until Barcelona came in with genuine purpose that his head was truly turned.
He registered two assists off the bench in his competitive debut against Elche
Once he had been given permission to travel, Gordon, his agent Adam Dugdale, Barcelona’s sporting director Deco and football co-ordinator Bojan Krkic met for dinner at seafood restaurant Botafumeiro in the trendy Gracia district of Barcelona. They pored over the final details of the move and discussed how they saw him fitting into Barcelona’s plans at the celebrity haunt, which has welcomed Woody Allen and the King of Spain through its doors.
But getting to Barcelona was one thing, and fitting in is another.
Asked last week by a journalist whether he wanted to conduct an interview in English or Spanish, Gordon said he would like to be asked the questions in English and respond in Spanish. The broadcaster explained that this was impossible – it would have to be conducted in one language or the other. On this occasion, Gordon admitted he would rather do it in English. But he promised the journalist: ‘Next time I’ll do it all in Spanish.’
For all his efforts, however, he has not learnt Catalan, the native language of the region, which a local described as being ‘like two-thirds’ of Spanish Castilian. Gordon lined up against Athletic Club on Thursday evening alongside six products of Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, who all communicate with each other largely in Catalan.
Fortunately for Gordon, Hansi Flick’s arrival has made his language transition a little easier. The German conducts his team talks and press conferences in English, meaning the Englishman has not had to navigate quite the linguistic barrier that previous arrivals might have faced under Pep Guardiola or Xavi.
Sources familiar with the club say Flick has been left impressed by Gordon’s football intelligence throughout pre-season and into his first appearance, particularly with the timing of his runs and his selflessness off the ball.
On his competitive debut at Elche on Sunday, Gordon made an immediate impact from the bench, registering his first assist within two minutes. Four minutes later, he had notched a second.
While new signing Karim Adeyemi, who is expected to be his biggest competitor for the left wing position, had spent much of the Elche match enthusiastically running with little end product, Gordon came on and showed an astute ability to pick the right moment. Twice.
Gordon, his agent, and Barcelona pored over the details of his move in the seafood restaurant Botafumeiro in the trendy Gracia district of Barcelona
His relationship with Lamine Yamal (pictured) and Pedri is showing promise in these early days
There has been a humility to Gordon’s approach which has already caught the attention of those inside the club, and his post-match interview after Elche was music to the ears of Flick, Barcelona fans and the Spanish media.
Reflecting on the match, he said: ‘We played some beautiful football, scored some great goals, and most importantly, I thought the defenders made some excellent blocks in the final minutes.’ Asked whether it had been his ‘dream debut’, he did not dwell on his own two assists. Instead, he chose to congratulate Adeyemi, his left-wing competitor, for scoring his first goal for the club.
Despite not delivering the same level of pizzazz against Athletic Club as he did against Elche, he was still withdrawn to a standing ovation, with chants of ‘Gordon’ echoing around the grand old stadium.
It had been a hard, emotional day’s work, but much like the stadium itself, there were signs that the best was still to come.
