When it was all set and done it was yet another miserable outing for Barcelona in their 3-0 Champions League defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich. For Sergiño Dest, who was pulled at the half, it was a night to forget in yet another botched opportunity in a big game for Barcelona.
Now a report in AS in Spain has surfaced that Xavi was extremely disappointed with the performance given by Dest, who was played higher up the field, and is reported to have given the okay to sell the American if a right offer comes along. Unlike most rumors, things have truly heated up with Dest and Xavi the last few weeks with the American having to take tactical lessons to learn better positioning and awareness.
Last night, Dest showed little to pay back Xavi’s faith in the American who has turned in modest performances with very bad ones against big time opponents at the biggest stage in the Champions League. For Dest, his 57 games at Barcelona have done little to make fans forget Dani Alves who has since returned.
Barcelona willing to listen to offers of $30 million for Sergiño Dest
At only 21 Dest is still a promising prospect, despite his lack of tactical awareness, he does have good dribbling, shooting, and crossing ability. According to AS, Xavi ripped the team at halftime and Dest was singled out by the coach for not giving all his potential.
At one time Dest had interest from Bayern Munich, but after last night’s performance that move looks unlikely now. Dest was not only hit hard by his coach but by most of the Spanish press, who criticized the players tactical awareness and poor performance in the attack and defense. Dest is an important piece in the USMNT for Gregg Berhalter but has also been criticized stateside for some erratic defensive plays at times.