Anthony Gordon shows ‘fire in belly’ and Spanish skills after joining Barcelona

Anthony Gordon took so long to turn up for his Barcelona presentation that they got in the burgers and changed rooms but no one had to wait quite as long as he did. The media gathered in a press room at 1pm, where a futsal news conference was scheduled for the evening. By the time the latest man to wear scarlet and blue eventually showed it was 9.23pm, so they had gone to the Sala Paris instead. There had been some paperwork issues, they said, things the Englishman described as “above me”. Still, at least he had made it. Unveiling apart, it all happened quickly, really. It is still only May and a deal few foresaw has been closed, the winger joining from Newcastle for €70m (£60.7m) plus €10m in variables before the summer has even started. He has signed a five-year contract worth about £300,000 a week and, standing in a dark suit with sunglasses hanging from the breast pocket, he answered some of the questions in Spanish and left a good impression on a first day he said he had been excited about since he was three years old. “There is a burning fire in my belly to win here,” he said. “[I bring] my intensity, work rate, technical ability. I like to score goals, assist and help the team win games.” Gordon eventually arrived at the Camp Nou in a grey car, rolling up at the offices on Aristide Maillol street, but confirmation kept getting put back. …