Dika Mem on transfer to Füchse: “I decided to discover something new”

"I knew my phone was going to explode"

“Friday has been a really long day, I knew that the news would be official then,” said Dika Mem later in the evening, after France beat Austria (35:29) on the first day of the Tournoi de France in Paris. “With the game being played at 9 PM, I knew that my phone was going to explode. It was a long day, but I am glad that it’s official and that I can move to something else now”.

Choosing between staying in Barça, a club that he led to three trophies in the EHF Champions League in the last four years (2021, 2022 and 2024) and moving to another project was a tough choice for Mem. “I am super fine in Barcelona, I have an incredible situation,” he admitted. In a post published on his social media on Saturday morning, Dika Mem went a little bit further, describing his current club. “It might be hard to understand the decision I made, especially in the situation that I am in, in the best club in the world. Barça gave me everything, since I arrived there as an 18-year-old kid,” he wrote. “I am, and I will forever be grateful towards this club and this city.”

Choosing between staying in Barça, a club that he led to three trophies in the EHF Champions League in the last four years (2021, 2022 and 2024) and moving to another project was a tough choice for Mem. “I am super fine in Barcelona, I have an incredible situation,” he admitted. In a post published on his social media on Saturday morning, Dika Mem went a little bit further, describing his current club. “It might be hard to understand the decision I made, especially in the situation that I am in, in the best club in the world. Barça gave me everything, since I arrived there as an 18-year-old kid,” he wrote. “I am, and I will forever be grateful towards this club and this city.”

Dika Mem still decided to move to another league in 2027, after playing 11 seasons for Barça. His collection of trophies is endless. Besides the three EHF Champions League ones, he also played the final of the competition in 2020, won the IHF Super Globe three times, was elected twice in the EHF Champions League All-star Team (2021, 2022) and received the EHF Excellence Award for best right back in 2024. “But I felt like, to remain at the top of my game, I needed to play in the best league. Only time will tell if my choice was the right one, maybe I made the wrong choice, but this is why I decided to move to Germany,” he explained on Friday night.

New home after 11 years

In Berlin, he will join a team that played the Truckscout24 EHF FINAL4 final last season, only to lose to SC Magdeburg (26:32). He will also be teammates with last season’s EHF Champions League best scorer Mathias Gidsel and his fellow Danish compatriot Simon Pytlick, whose engagement with Berlin from 2027 was made official a couple of weeks. Against Austria, he played in the centre back position for a couple of minutes, a role that he might take in Berlin when playing with Gidsel. “Does this mean anything for the future? We will see!” he laughed when asked about the situation.

But this is all future talks, as for Dika Mem, all focus is now on the EHF EURO, where France will try to defend the title they won in Germany in 2024. “I took the decision lately, but as soon as I did, I asked for it to be official before the start of the EURO so I could focus on France and not let all these thoughts in my head,” he explained in Paris, after scoring three goals against Austria. “We know that the EHF EURO will be tough, very tough, so for now, all my focus is on trying to get another gold medal with my team,” concluded Dika Mem.

Photos: kolektiff images