Think you know everything about FC Barcelona’s new Dutch superstar? Think again.
FC Barcelona have announced the arrival of Dutch star Memphis Depay, the club’s fourth summer reinforcement, from French side Lyon. Memphis is known around the world, but here are five things you might not know about the 27-year-old.
His loves playing under Ronald Koeman
Memphis has made no secret of the fact that he is excited to work with Ronald Koeman again. This makes sense given how well the forward played under Koeman when the current Barça boss was in charge of the Netherlands. Memphis played 18 times under Koeman, scoring 11 goals and providing 12 assists in that time – directly contributing to a goal every 70 minutes.
A very special Brazilian tattoo
Memphis scored his first goal for the Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup, scoring in a 3-2 group stage win over Australia. He has since commemorated that moment with a tattoo of Rio’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue alongside the date: June 18th 2014. He has almost fifty other tattoos, including a huge lion covering his back and wings on his chest.
‘Memphis,’ please
The Dutchman always wears ‘Memphis’ on the back of his shirt, as opposed to his surname. He has explained that it’s a decision he took due to his difficult relationship with his father, who left the family when he was just four years old. “Those things are a part of my life,” he told the BBC in 2015. “It is not part of football. It is a different thing, I have a life next to football.”
His music career
As well as banging in the goals on the pitch, Memphis has produced quite a few ‘bangers’ in the recording studio as well! He loves music and has released several tracks, starting with LA Vibes back in 2017. Over the years, he has collaborated with well-known Dutch artists such as Broederliefde, Winne and Nana Fofie.
He was engaged to Lori Harvey
Memphis was engaged to Lori Harvey, the step-daughter of American TV presenter Steve Harvey, in 2017. “This young man is a good one,” Harvey said at the time on his Twitter profile. In the end, though, they broke the engagement off.
