OL Lyonnes coach Jonatan Giráldez has said comments he made when leaving Barcelona have been twisted and manipulated as he prepares to take on his former side in Saturday's UEFA Women's Champions League final in Oslo (LIVE DISNEY+).
Giráldez, 34, left Barça in 2024 after three years in charge of the Catalan club, moving to Washington Spirit before returning to Europe with Lyonnes just a year later.
His appointment in France came as a shock to Barça, with the local media since claiming he had said he would "never" compete against the Blaugrana.
"On the day I announced I was leaving Barcelona, I did not say those words exactly," Giráldez said ahead of this weekend's showdown with the team he won back-to-back Champions Leagues with, including the 2024 final against Lyonnes.
"It's come out in so many headlines since, but it's completely taken out of context. I was asked a question about my next club. Due to confidentiality reasons at the time, I couldn't name the club, but I said it wasn't a club that would compete against Barça, which was important in that moment, after so many years at the club, to not go up against them.
"But the first part of that has been omitted ever since and the rest turned into what I would go as far as to say is a manipulation of what was said. It's the world we live in now. Five or 10 years ago, women's football was different, let's say cleaner, but I am grateful to be able to clear it up."
Giráldez's return to Europe adds extra spice to a final between two teams who have developed a healthy rivalry in recent years due to the frequency of their meetings on the biggest stage.
Eight-time European champions Lyonnes beat Barça in the 2019 and 2022 finals, but their status at the top of the women's game has been questioned in recent years by the Spanish champions, who beat them in the final two years ago.
Barça, Champions League winners in 2021, 2023 and 2024, are appearing in their sixth successive final and are desperate to make amends for last year's surprise loss to Arsenal.
"I feel privileged to face Barça in a final, honestly," Giráldez added. "And also very happy, because as a Barça fan I always wish them the best, I enjoy their success. I was so happy there. I grew so much personally and professionally.
"Obviously I want to win at the weekend, because I am competitive and I love winning, just as they do. We know we have to play almost the perfect game because the level of football will be high. But as I said, nothing but good memories at Barça because I was happy there."
Giráldez, who has steered Lyonnes to a domestic treble this season, is not the only one coming up against his former club, with defender Ingrid Engen also preparing to face her ex-teammates.
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"I was thinking from the beginning of the season that this could happen," the Norway international said. "You never know, but after the group stage, when we ended up first and second, so on different sides [of the draw], I had a feeling.
"Mentally, I've been prepared for the situation. When it happened, that they won against Bayern [Munich] and us against Arsenal [in the semifinal], it felt a little bit like it was meant to be this year."
Among Engen's former teammates is her partner, Barça defender Mapi León. The two have had to create some ground rules ahead of the game at Ullevaal Stadion, but both are looking forward to the occasion.
"No talking about tactics, or football, or who is available and who is not," Engen said of how her relationship with León has had to change in the build up to the game.
"We are used to talking a lot to each other, obviously, but now we are not doing that, but we try to keep it as normal as possible. It will be special to play against her and my former teammates.
"I think that in the game, you manage to turn everything else off. I think then it's about the football, and, yeah, like you say, I know them well.
"I also know what a good level they are, and how good the players are, so it's going be very, very interesting, and obviously special to share the pitch with them, but in the game it's all about winning for both teams."
