LA Galaxy striker Billy Sharp has joked that he is used to playing with Spanish speaking players due to his time at Southampton earlier in his career.
The 37-year-old is a legend at Sheffield United, but with his contract expiring in the summer, there were doubts about his future.
Despite wanting to stay at Bramall Lane, a new deal wasn’t agreed as the Blades prepared for life back in the Premier League, meaning Sharp was on the lookout for a new club.
And, in a surprising move, it was confirmed that Sharp had moved to the United States, agreeing a contract with LA Galaxy.
Even though it’s early days, it’s a move that’s working so far, with Sharp having scored three goals in five games, but he has been a sub in four of those appearances, highlighting how much of an impact he has made on the pitch.
Of course, adapting to life in MLS has been a big change for Sharp, and one issue that he wouldn’t have expected was the language barrier, as the majority of the squad are Spanish speakers.
However, addressing that, Sharp made a light-hearted reference to his time at Southampton to say that he is used to it when speaking to The Athletic.
It’s a bit like when I was at Southampton; it was quite South American in the changing room then. I can’t speak Spanish, but I understand some of the words and their jokes. One of the first times I sat down to eat my lunch at one of the tables, it was just all Spanish. They asked me, ‘Do you want us to speak English?’ and I replied, as a joke, ‘No, I understand what you’re saying
The experienced striker has had a brilliant career, and he will be remembered most for his time with his boyhood club at Sheffield United. However, he made his mark at many other clubs in the Football League, including Southampton.
Sharp played his part in helping Saints back to the Premier League, scoring some important goals. But, opportunities were going to be hard to come by for the attacker in the top-flight, so he left for Nottingham Forest.