Barcelona’s Spanish center Pau Gasol gestures during the Euroleague basketball match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich at the Palau Blaugrana arena in Barcelona on April 9, 2021. Twenty years after leaving Barcelona for the riches of the NBA, 40-year-old Pau Gasol returned to his Spanish club today, playing in a EuroLeague clash against Bayern Munich. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)
MADRID, Spain – Twenty years after leaving Barcelona for the riches of the NBA, 40-year-old Pau Gasol returned to his Spanish club on Friday, playing in a EuroLeague clash against Bayern Munich.
Gasol, who was an NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010, returned to Europe following two frustrating years in the United States where a serious left foot injury kept him sidelined.
“Pau is doing well, he increases in intensity with each workout, he likes it here and I think that now we are thinking about giving him a few minutes, but we do not yet know how much,” Barca coach Sarunas Jasikevicius had said on Thursday.
Gasol started Friday’s match alongside Greece’s Nick Calathes, Leo Westermann of France and Spanish pair Sergi Martinez and Victor Claver.
Barcelona were already assured of first place in the table and guaranteed a spot in the quarter-finals.