Marc Roca talks about his turbulent time at Bayern Munich

Back in 2020, Bayern Munich signed young defensive midfielder Marc Roca after winning the treble. Two years later, he left the club for Leeds United and is now on loan to Real Betis. Recently, the Spaniard reflected on his time in Munich in an interview with Spanish publication Marca.

When asked about what he took away, he said: “Above all the personal improvement I had day by day, of continuing, even though maybe I wasn’t having the minutes I wanted. It was my first experience abroad. It was a great learning curve of two years, of trying to improve every day, training with the best, and never giving up. I think I also showed that I could be there.”

Roca also talked about his lack of regular game-time under Hansi Flick and Julian Nagelsmann: “In the end, I didn’t play because the coach decided to put other players, not because I didn’t have the level required, because I think I showed I had the level whenever I was on the pitch. I left Bayern with a feeling of gratitude, of having learned a lot and of proving to myself that I perfectly had the level to play there” (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).

Roca was always a positive face at Bayern and performed when required. One can only help but wonder what it could have been like for him under Thomas Tuchel, who is desperate for a defensive presence in midfield.

As they say: “you never really know what you have until it’s gone.” What do you think — would the story have ended differently? Tell us in the comments below!