“The loan agreement with FC Barcelona will be terminated, and Yusuf Demir will extend it early with us until the end of the 2023/24 season.” With these words, Rapids Sports Director Zoran Barisic announced Demir’s return to the port of Hütteldorfer at home: ” There were extremely intensive discussions with and between many participants, but now I am extremely happy that we have come up with a very good solution for everyone. “
Demir, who played nine competitive games (six leagues, three Champions League) on loan for the Catalan cult club in the fall, does not play a role in Barcelona’s renovation plans. According to Spanish media reports, Barcelona had already canceled the four-time ÖFB team player in the past few days in order to save salary costs with a view to the financial fair play of the Spanish league. The club had to save to register their new striker Ferran Torres.
The 18-year-old, who also made his debut for the Austrian national team against the Faroe Islands in March, was about to make a final commitment at Barca thanks to his nine games, because if he had played again, Demir would have made a permanent move for a transfer fee of ten million euros in the coming summer due to a contractual clause.
“There is a lot of anticipation”
After the end of the speculation, the 18-year-old, who came from Vienna to the Rapid youngsters at the age of ten, is concentrating again on his duties for the Viennese. “I’m really looking forward to the upcoming tasks and to seeing my old teammates again. I’m really looking forward to it, now I’m back at my club, ”said Demir. The Viennese played 38 competitive games for Rapid before he moved to Spain in the summer of 2021. Mostly used as a “joker”, he scored nine hits and made four assists.
Head coach Ferdinand Feldhofer also welcomed the homecomer, who is a newcomer to him, with open arms: “It’s very nice that we have a highly talented player in our ranks, Yusuf Demir, who has already played international matches and is gaining experience in the Champions League could. Since he has already been with Rapid for eight years, the time to get used to it will be very short, and if he can exhaust his potential, he will be a huge reinforcement for us.
