Thomas Heurtel, French basketball player, has had a troubled relationship with two Spanish clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid. He signed for Barça Basket in 2017 and had a successful year, being named MVP of the Copa del Rey. However, in January 2021, he decided to leave Barcelona mid-season... and talked to Barcelona's biggest rival, Real Madrid.
Many people still remember that day in late 2020 when the club, when they found out he was negotiation with their rivals, decided to literally ground him: he wasn't given permission to get on the plane from Istanbul with the rest of the team.
Heurtel spent the 2021-22 season in Real Madrid, when he was side-lined for disciplinary reasons (like going party in Athens the night before a match against Panathinaikos). The controversial player has also had problems with the French team: he was kicked out from the Paris 2024 team because Heurtel tried to sign with Zenit Saint Petersburg, ignoring French veto on Russian clubs.
After half a season in the Shenzhen Leopards in China, Heurtel wanted to return to Europe... and surprisingly, FC Barcelona showed interest in his signing, against the opinion of the vast majority of Barça fans, who despise him. But in yet another turn of events, when Heurtel landed at the Barcelona airport... nobody picked him up.
<social>https://x.com/EsportsRAC1/status/1875104947060310352</social>
<social>Is Thomas Heurtel signing to Barcelona? It doesn't seem that way</social>
It is now being reported that Barcelona, overnight, turned back and decided not to sign Heurtel. Barça, currently going a terrible moment in the Euroleague, needs a replacement after Brazilian player Raulzinho Neto, who joined the team in late November, was fired. Neto joined to make up for Laprovittola long injury, but Neto himself got injured twice and barely played any minutes.
Heurtel seemed like a last minute solution. He is a quality player, but most fans don't like him. When he landed in Barcelona, he even told local press that he was "eager to start in Barcelona", but nobody from the club came to meet him, and now awaits news at the hotel with his family.
Unless we see a new plot twist, all signs point that Barcelona has given him another "no-show", the second time Barcelona has done that to him in an airport.