A Russian, La Liga 90’s legend has claimed that FC Barcelona didn’t sign him because he was ugly.
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A Russian and La Liga 90’s legend has claimed on the El Bigote de Abadía Youtube channel that FC Barcelona didn’t sign him because he was ugly.
Victor Onopko arrived in Spain 30 years ago when signing for Barca’s recently-promoted opposition at the Spotify Camp Nou on January 25, Real Oviedo.
He went on to play 216 games for the well-supported Asturian club, and then another 28 for Rayo Vallecano in the capital Madrid where he could have also ended up playing for one of its biggest teams according to Onopko himself.
“I signed with Oviedo in the summer of 1995, but then I went in the winter. I wanted to put a clause that if a club put in one more dollar I could go to that club. They told me yes, but they deceived me. Because Atleti made an offer for me, but I couldn’t go to Atleti,” Onopko explained.
Over in Catalonia, though, FC Barcelona was also apparently interested in Onopko during its Dream Team era but turned him down for aesthetic reasons.
“I recently found out that Barcelona wanted to sign me. But [Johan] Cruyff or one of his assistants said I was ugly, and that’s why they didn’t sign me,” Onopko remarked.
Even without that move coming off, Onopko still became a cult La Liga hero with seven goals, plus the all-time appearances leader with 109 caps for the Russian national team.
At present, he is the assistant manager for Rostov in his homeland’s national championship.
Breaking FC Barcelona’s first team wouldn’t have been easy for Onopko
Had he joined Barca in its mid-90s heyday, Onopko would have had to work hard to make his way into the plans of Cruyff in defence.
Club legend Ronald Koeman was the main star in that area of the pitch, and there were also the likes of Miguel Angel Nadal and Abelardo to contend with in the fight for minutes.
Onopko’s comments became public a few hours before FC Barcelona taking on Real Sociedad away in the league, with Hansi Flick’s men looking to maintain an impressive streak of 11 victories and reopen a four-point advantage over Real Madrid at the summit.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomsanderson/2026/01/18/fc-barcelona-didnt-sign-me-because-i-was-ugly-says-90s-legend/
