As Aubameyang celebrated his second goal for Barcelona in their victory against Real Madrid, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang paid a touching tribute to his late grandparents.
With a historic 4-0 victory atthe Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night, the Catalan giants put their fiercest rivals to the sword. With two goals and an assist in El Clasico, Aubameyang was a star player, scoring in the first half and adding his second after the break after setting up Ferran Torres to expand the lead.
With his incredible performance for Barca, which he signed on a free transfer in January, the former Arsenal striker shattered two records, and celebrated his second goal by putting two fingers to his forehead and holding out a ball with the other.
After the game, Aubameyang revealed that the gesture was a nod to the popular anime television series Dragon Ball Z, and that he had “wished” he could find the back of the net for his grandparents.
“It was a Dragon Ball-themed ball. You can make a wish with it “he stated “I wanted to win and score a goal for my deceased grandparents. It [the ball] was given to me by a friend. I was thinking about that today.”
Aubameyang’s double increased his tally in a Barcelona shirt to nine goals in 11 outings, and he looked to retaliate against his critics, including Arsenal great Paul Merson, following his latest stellar performance. Merson regarded Aubameyang as “done” during his tenure at Arsenal.
The attitude in the Barcelona camp is unquestionably better than it was when Xavi took over in the dugout from Ronald Koeman in early November. Aubameyang has been a key figure in Barcelona’s recent revival, with his boss claiming that his side might have “easily” scored five or six goals against Los Blancos.
However, Xavi played down his side’s hopes of a late title charge as they remain 12 points behind Real Madrid with a game in hand. “Perhaps we’re a little late, but this is a huge triumph for us,” the Spaniard remarked. “We won tonight and have the better head-to-head record, but it will be a difficult game.
“Madrid has only lost three games in the league. Three more losses are required. We have to do something.