Nelson Semedo Reveals Reason Behind Nickname Given to Him by Barca Teammates

Nelson Semedo has explained why he has been given such a random nickname by his new Barcelona teammates.

The right-back joined La Blaugrana in the summer from Portuguese giants Benfica, and is set to face his former club's title rivals Sporting in the Champions League group stages on Wednesday night.

An interview with Marca covered how Semedo was feeling ahead of the clash with his former employers' rivals, but it was his surreal nickname and reasoning behind it that will be of surprise to Barca fans.

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He quipped: "They call me the motorcyclist! It's because I give the team depth on the flank.

"We work in training to perfect that quality, and so that nickname stuck."

Semedo has featured five times for the Catalan giants since he completed a £27m transfer from Benfica on 14th July.

It was at the Estadio de Luz-based club that he made his name, however, as Semedo racked up 65 appearances for the reigning Primeira Liga champions.

With a showdown against Sporting to come imminently, the 23-year-old reflected on what kind of mentality he would hold heading into the bout with a side he was familiar with.

He said: "I always like to come back to Portugal. For me, to come here and play against Sporting is more than match and I will try to face it with great responsibility."

The six-times capped Portugal international also stated that Barcelona would go out looking to extend their unbeaten start to the 2017/18 campaign against Sporting - a record that the Portuguese side also boast heading into the game.

He added: "We will find a great team, a strong and solid team that has made a great start to the season.

"They've also won in Athens, so we will try our best to add three more points and have six."