Who is Bellerín, Porro’s successor at Sporting?

Héctor Bellerín, 27, is preparing to leave Barcelona for Sporting. He played for Arsenal and was once among the best right backs in the world.

It was in Barcelona’s quarry that Sporting’s future right-back began to be sculpted. Héctor Bellerin Moruno had the attention of the sharks in Europe from a very early age and completed a transfer at the age of 16 that changed his life forever.

From Barcelona to London, the Catalan joined Arsenal and stayed there for nine years. Between an adaptation phase, where he played in the youth team of the gunners, and a loan to Watford, Bellerín grabbed the title in 2014/2015, three years after arriving at the London club, then aged 19.

The right-back was noted for his unbridled sprints in the attack. Three years followed with many games in the legs and much applause echoing in the Spaniard’s subconscious, until in 2018/19 everything changed.

Socks and cleats began to be replaced by bandages and Bellerín began to lose all of its characteristic glow. The physical state was not the only victim of this tortuous phase, plagued by injuries that led to psychological consequences: “I knew I had to recover, but I didn’t have to play and train. My head was lost”, he said at the time.

A loan to Bétis de Sevilla, in 2021/22, and the consequent return to his home country helped the Spaniard to overcome the difficulties and also resulted in more playing time. In fact, he was so effective that he got the attention of Barcelona, ​​who would recruit him for a homecoming 11 years later.

Today, a more experienced player and with a very active voice on mental health issues, ​Bellerín is motivated to make up for lost playing time at Barcelona, ​​where he has only been used in seven games this season. Sporting follows, where he should play on loan until the end of the season with the difficult task of succeeding Porro, transferred to Tottenham for 47.5 million euros.