The father of Bojan Krkic talked about the difficulties his son had at Barcelona and that's he found a home at Stoke City.

"They were international stars," Bojan Krkic Sr. told the Mail. "They saw a little boy starting games. Sometimes, Ronaldinho was on the bench and Bojan starts. You can imagine, eh? Not easy. It became very difficult. He wasn't welcomed in by everyone."

His father also said the player found it tougher when Pep Guardiola replaced Frank Rijkaard as coach in the summer of 2008.

"Guardiola didn't give him continuity," he said. "In the Copa del Rey, Bojan was the top goalscorer for Pep. In La Liga, he could score one or two goals, but then not play again for weeks. It is very curious.

"In the title run-in in 2010, he kept [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic on the bench. Bojan played, scoring at Sevilla and Tenerife, and they were decisive goals. Then, when the season ended, they signed David Villa."

He added: "At Stoke, he is playing like an animal. He saves his best for the big games. He loves Mark Hughes and his training sessions are creative. He is playing behind the forward and he has the freedom to express himself but he is fighting for the team, too. He chases everything, he works for the team. Against Arsenal, he ran and ran.

"My boy has suffered a lot in football. Too much. But it is a very long time since I have seen Bojan this happy. He is truly content at Stoke City and, as a father, that's a warm feeling."