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New Barcelona recruit Jeremy Mathieu has told L'Equipe he can barely believe where his career has taken him after moving to the "biggest club in the world." - Tomas: Mathieu an expensive fix Mathieu, 30, completed a 20-million-euro move from Valencia to Barca earlier this week, signing a four-year contract with the Catalan club. After starting at lowly Sochaux in 2002, and then spending four years at unglamorous Toulouse before his move to Valencia in 2009, Mathieu is still finding it difficult to come to terms with his career trajectory after joining one of football's iconic clubs. "You tell yourself lots of things. One is that you're joining the club I consider to be the biggest in the world," Mathieu said. "After that, quite frankly, I'm struggling to come to terms with what is happening to me. It's quite mad! I went from Sochaux, Toulouse... I have really worked a lot. It's a real reward for all my hard work." Contacted by Barcelona regarding a potential move last season, Mathieu opted to remain at Valencia as the Catalans were unable to conclude the deal quickly. However, this time round, after meeting new Barca coach Luis Enrique, the versatile defender pushed to make the transfer happen, even going as far as putting out a press release stating his ambition of joining the Blaugrana. "I saw him a month and a half ago in Barcelona with Andoni Zubizarreta, the sporting director," Mathieu said. "They told me I was their priority. That's very satisfying to hear from the mouth of the new Barcelona coach. "The transfer was a bit long and complicated. That's why I put out a press release last week to explain to the Valencia board that I really wanted to join the club. I did it without raising my voice or getting annoyed."
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