Antoine Semenyo recounts Huijsen’s fiery message before Champions League battle

Antoine Semenyo has shed light on a lively pre-match exchange with Dean Huijsen ahead of Manchester City’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 showdown against Real Madrid.

The Ghanaian winger revealed that his former Bournemouth teammate reached out in the days leading up to the high-stakes encounter, delivering a blunt warning about what to expect on the pitch.

The message, sent shortly before kickoff, added an extra layer of intrigue to a contest already brimming with elite-level intensity.

Semenyo, however, took the exchange in stride. While acknowledging the magnitude of Huijsen’s move to one of Europe’s most decorated clubs, he made it clear that reputations would count for little once the match began.

“Facing Huijsen? He was texting me the night before or two nights before, saying ‘I’m gonna kick the sh*t out of you.’ I was just like, calm down buddy. We get it, you’re at Real Madrid, but calm down,” Semenyo said.

On the field, it was Real Madrid who ultimately had the final say. The Spanish giants secured a commanding 5-1 aggregate victory over City across two legs, advancing to the quarter-finals before their campaign was halted by Bayern Munich.

Reflecting further, Semenyo noted that Huijsen’s rise had long been mapped out.

“When Dean Huijsen signed for Bournemouth, he said, ‘I’m going to sign for Real Madrid next year.’ Then he did sign for Real Madrid the following summer, and I was like, fair enough…”