Barcelona striker Aubameyang: ‘I’m like Peter Pan, I never grow up’ with goal celebrations

Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang says his epic celebrations are inspired by the character Peter Pan created by Scottish novelist and playwright JM Barrie.

Over the years, Aubameyang has built up an impressive collection of goal celebrations starting from his time at Saint Etienne, then Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and now Barcelona.

“I like those celebrations because I am like Peter Pan, like he never grows up,” Aubameyang said during a cooking competition alongside teammate Adama Traore on Camp Nou Kitchen.

He added: “He is still in his world and part of me is still in this world of a young guy that loves mangas and marvals. My kids love those kinds of things too so I have to do it for them.”

A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical island of Neverland as the leader of the Lost Boys, interacting with fairies, pirates, mermaids, Native Americans and occasionally children from the world outside Neverland.

The 32-year-old forward is fond of using movies and comic books for inspiration, ranging from Spider-Man, Batman, Marval Superhero Black Panther and the latest being the anime classic ‘Dragon Ball Z’ pose when he scored in Barcelona’s 4-0 rout of rivals Real Madrid in the El Clasico in March.

Those celebrations have not always gone down well with everyone, however, as Aubameyang was in November 2020 involved in a war of words with Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kross after the German termed him a poor role model for his ‘nonsense’ celebrations.

The former Arsenal captain has had a big impact for Xavi’s side, scoring 13 goals in all competitions, to end the season as Barca's joint top scorer alongside Memphis Depay, despite switching to Camp Nou in January.

Aubameyang, who recently retired from international duty with Gabon, proved that he does not just score on the pitch as his ‘Super sushi’ beat Traore’s ‘Hulk sushi’ in the cooking competition.