Pau Gasol, 40, will play for Barcelona until the end of the season, they confirmed ESPN Sports sources close to the Barça club, from where the operation was not refused, in order to accelerate its organization to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Gasol himself assured in his social networks that he will not return to court.
The Catalan striker has been away from court since May 10, 2019 due to a broken left leg.
Following the news, I want to say that I am still focusing on my recovery and that I am not ready to get back on track. When I have something to announce, I will do it through my social networks.
Thank you so much for your support!
– Pau Gasol (@paugasol) February 20, 2021
The signing of Gasol by Barça, to whom the player offered himself directly, is awaiting a medical examination, which should be performed imminently, before being under the command of Sharunas Jasikevicius, coach of the Barça team and with whom he already shared a Barça dressing room in the 2000-01 season, before making the leap to the NBA.
His contract, by the end of the course, would have a negligible financial cost for the club.
At Barça, Gasol will meet again with Montenegrin Nikola Mirotic, who was already a teammate between 2014 and 2016 at the Chicago Bulls and in 2019 at the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Catalan, considered the best player in history in Spain, was cut by the Portland Trail-Blazers in November 2019, four months after signing, due to problems with his recovery from injury, which has kept him inactive ever since.
Gasol made his professional debut in 1999 with Barça and reached the stars until the end of the 2000-01 season, when he was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in 3rd place in the 2001 draft (behind Kwame Brown and Tyson Chandler). to be immediately negotiated with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Champion of the League and Cup with Barcelona in the first stage, with the signing of the Barça club, he consolidates his position with the clear objective of consolidating his candidacy for the Euroleague title, the only title that is missing on Gasol’s list at club level.
In 2009 and 2010, he won the NBA ring with the Los Angeles Lakers. In addition, along with the Spanish team, he was proclaimed world champion in 2006 and Europe in 2009, 2011 and 2015. At the Olympic Games he won the silver medal in 2008 and 2012 and the bronze medal in 2016.