Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang says he’s never enjoyed football as much as his time at Barcelona, even going to training on his off days.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has played for plenty of clubs in his career so far.

The striker started out in senior football with AC Milan, going on loan to Dijon, Lille, and AS Monaco before joining Saint-Etienne on a permanent basis.

From there, Aubameyang moved to Borussia Dortmund, then Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, and Marseille – where he currently plays his football.

From those 10 clubs, the Gabon international says the best period of his career was in Barcelona.

“That was strong too. I think I had the best six months of my career,” Aubameyang said of his Barcelona spell.

“I have never enjoyed playing football and going to training so much. I even went to training on off days. This is to tell you. It was incredible.”

In some ways, the choice is unsurprising. Aubameyang enjoyed a particularly strong run of form in the immediate aftermath of his move to Barcelona, scoring 13 goals in 23 games.

But it didn’t last long. Just a few months later, Aubameyang was sold to Chelsea, where he was dire, and he’s not faring much better with Marseille.

On top of that, the highlight of Aubameyang’s on-field Barcelona career was simply qualifying for the Champions League. He left the club before actually playing in the competition.

Though the 34-year-old technically picked up a La Liga winner’s medal in 2022/23, he played just eight minutes of the campaign, spending most of the season with Chelsea.

For a player who had a major role in winning trophies with Saint-Etienne, Borussia Dortmund, and Arsenal, you’d think those moments would stand out above all others.

But there’s a lot more to a footballer’s life than what we see on the pitch, and maybe being able to enjoy every day going into training was just more important to Aubameyang.