Young Villarreal Player: No Intention to Hurt Ter Stegen; Cried for Minutes, Wishing Him a Speedy Recovery

In an interview with DAZN, Yeremi Pino, the 21-year-old Spanish international from Villarreal, stated that he did not intend to harm Ter Stegen. On the contrary, having just recovered from a knee injury himself, he knew how terrifying it could be, and thus he shed tears for the German goalkeeper.

During the incident, both were competing for the ball, and the Barcelona goalkeeper had already jumped to secure possession. Pino went in to disrupt him, leading to a slight collision. Pino’s intention was merely to cause trouble for the goalkeeper, hoping to force a drop of the ball — a common tactic in European football, though not entirely in line with sportsmanship. If seen by the referee, such action would typically result in a foul against the attacker.

Unfortunately, this disruption caused Ter Stegen to lose balance upon landing, resulting in issues with his right foot support and ultimately leading to a rupture of the patellar tendon in his right knee. Yeremi Pino was the first to react, immediately placing his hands on his head in apology, and when Ter Stegen was carried off the field on a stretcher, Pino even shed tears.

In an interview with DAZN’s Super 8 program, Pino said, “I was involved, I didn’t want to hurt him, but things turned out this way. I couldn’t control my emotions, I cried, I cried for five minutes, yes, I cried.”

Pino recalled the incident, “When he fell to the ground, he started feeling dizzy and complained about his back. Nobody noticed his knee at first. But suddenly, when he looked at his knee, the kneecap was out of place… each one of us put our hands on our heads and frantically called for medical help; facing that scene was incredibly difficult.”

Despite being only 21 years old, Pino has already made 13 appearances for the Spanish national team. After the game, he was very concerned about Ter Stegen’s condition: “I asked Robert (Lewandowski) about Ter Stegen’s situation, and I also told Pedri, Lamine (Yamal), and Ansu (Fati) to give him more encouragement. If any trouble was caused by me, I am truly sorry, and I wish him a speedy recovery.”