Zak Hardaker will sample Camp Nou after turning down two football deals
Wigan Warriors full-back could have signed for Bradford City or Barnsley as a youngster but will now step out at Barcelona's footballing cathedral
ZAK Hardaker is ready to reap the rewards for shunning football for rugby league by sharing the same pitch as Lionel Messi.
And the Wigan ace believes the grand surroundings of the Camp Nou will bring even more out of him.
Full-back Hardaker may be one of the most exciting talents in the 13-a-side code but he could easily have played with two fewer team-mates.
He turned down contract offers at Bradford City and Barnsley to take up a deal with Featherstone Rovers.
But while Valley Parade and Oakwell will not see his skill, the home of football giants Barcelona will – even though it is not Elland Road, home of his beloved Leeds United.
“I was offered professional terms by both Bradford and Barnsley when I was 16,” recalled Hardaker, who started as a striker then became a right winger.
“Instead, I chose a deal with Featherstone!
“I’d played rugby and football at the weekends but I got to a cross roads and had to decide what I wanted to do.
“As I got older, the physicality of rugby attracted me more while the football world wasn’t as physical or demanding.
“I played in the age above and Bradford offered me that but Barnsley said I’d have to go back a year.
“I wanted the aggression and excitement of playing sport, so I chose rugby and I’m sure I made the right decision.
“I don’t know which way my football career would’ve gone. Two other lads from my team took deals and they didn’t make any first team appearances.”
Hardaker, 27, has heard all the claims about who is the Messi of the Wigan team and there are plenty who claim to be the best with the round ball.
But for all the glitz, glamour and expected record Super League crowd there is a job to do – winning the keep their hopes of defending the title going.
And while he believes stepping out at the sporting cathedral against Catalans will bring more out of him, there is little point if Adrian Lam’s men do not get the result.
He added: “Oliver Gildart and George Williams fancy themselves as decent players whenever we got a football out – I’m not sure they’re near Messi though!
“I’ve watched all Barcelona’s games in the Champions League and La Liga and I’m really looking forward to being on the same pitch as Messi.
“This game has the feeling of a Grand Final or Challenge Cup final and the bigger stadia do bring more out of me as I’m keen to impress in them.
“When I first heard the game might be at the Camp Nou it was exciting, then it was all confirmed and it’s great for Wigan and the game of rugby league.
“However, it will be really disappointing if we go there and lose. After losing in the Challenge Cup last week, we need to get back to winning ways.
“If someone had told me five or six years ago that a rugby league game would be played at the Camp Nou, I’d have replied, ‘Not a chance.’
“But the sport is expanding, with Toronto and Red Star Belgrade have a team now. There may also be New York or Ottawa coming in.
“And this game at the Camp Nou shows where the sport is going In another five years, who knows where it will be?”
