Four players with ties to both Barça and Club Brugge
The second European away match of the season takes FC Barcelona to the Flanders region of Belgium to play Club Brugge in the UCL league phase gameweek four match, and it's been over two decades since Barça last travelled to the Jan Breydel stadium. Not many players have made the same trip then and in fact, only four players have both featured for the blaugranes and worn the blue and black of Club Brugge.
Fernand Goyvaerts, a Belgian talent who played under Kubala
You have to go back to the 1960s for the first, when one of the biggest talents in Belgian football Fernand Goyvaerts left Club Brugge to join Barça under Kubala. He was a highly technical wide attacking midfielder who was voted the best foreign player in the Spanish league during his time at Barça. All the same, he was in and out of the side, and he lifted a Copa de Rey before making the move to big rivals Real Madrid in 1965.
The La Masia talent with a breakout in Bruges
Forty years later, a La Masia player made the opposite trip. One of the brightest talents from the same generation as Leo Messi, central attacking midfielder Víctor Vázquez only played three times for the first team, albeit he managed to score a goal in the Champions League against Rubin Kazan.
After a long spell in blaugrana, he left for Club Brugge in 2011, where he stayed for five years, becoming a highly respected player, as shown by his 173 appearances, including scoring 25 goals and providing 50 assists, and helping the team to win a league and a cup. Still playing now in FC Santa Coloma de Andorra, Víctor Vázquez went on to play in Mexico, United States of America, Qatar and India.
The only blaugrana Icelander also had a spell in Belgium
Víctor Vázquez was at Barça and Club Brugge at the same time as the only Icelandic player ever to feature for the Club, Eidur Gudjohnsen. He joined Barça after thee great seasons with Chelsea, spending three campaigns in blaugrana from 2006 to 2009 as a great rotation option for the forward line. He made 114 appearances, scoring 19 goals and providing 10 assists, and was part of the wonderful team that won the treble in the 2008/09 season.
He left Barça for Monaco and after short spells at clubs like Tottenham, Stoke City, Fulham and AEK, he arrived in Belgium in October 2012, albeit for Cercle Brugge, city rivals of Club Brugge, who he would go on to sign for two months later in January 2013, where he stayed for a season and a half.
Ferran Jutglà the most recent
Ferran Jutglà is the most recent example and has a similar story to Víctor Vázquez. Although he spent less time in the youth system on going straight into the development side, he was used by Xavi during his spell as coach as injuries has taken their toll on the attacking options, going on to make nine appearances for the first team.
He performed very well, scoring two goals, one in the Copa del Rey and another in LaLiga, before being transferred to Club Brugge at the end of the season. He remained at the Belgian side for three seasons, playing 148 times and scoring 40 goals, including in the Champions League, plus key goals that saw them lift the league, cup and super cup trophies. He returned to Spanish football this summer to play for Celta de Vigo.
Víctor Barberà likely be the fifth
Lastly, a special mention for Víctor Barberà, the current Barça Atlètic forward. After many years at La Masia, he decided to look for other opportunities in a top flight in Europe, joining Club Brugge, where he played for both the development side and the first team, making seven competitive appearances. The following summer saw him return to Barça in 2024, and albeit currently recovering from a knee injury, he is one of the key players in the development side. If he ends up playing for the first team, he will be the next name on the list of players to have donned the FC Barcelona and Club Brugge first team jerseys.