Oli McBurnie laughs when Mail Sport quizzes him on his Spanish just a couple of weeks into making the move to play in LaLiga with Las Palmas.
The 28-year-old, who has worked his way up from Sunday League, through the top five leagues in English football, played in the Premier League, played internationally for Scotland and now prepares to take on Real Madrid and Barcelona, is perhaps facing his biggest challenge yet.
How can he be the extroverted McBurnie, the life and soul in the dressing room, without speaking Spanish?
‘I did a bit of Spanish in school but never took it at GCSE,’ he explains.
‘So there are little words I pick up now that I remember from school. One is boligrafo which is pen, the most random word but I always remember that one!
Scotland international Oli McBurnie made the move to join Las Palmas in Spain this summer
He has been joined at the LaLiga club by Scotland team-mate Scott McKenna (far left). The duo are pictured with fellow Scot, Andy Robertson (middle), after a pre-season friendly at Anfield
‘Duolingo (a language development app) has been a good help. I came out for a couple of days when the boys were in Marbella and then Italy for pre-season and then went home for a few days to get everything sorted.
‘Duolingo’s app was a big help, I was grinding on that. I’ve got a tutor now so starting one to one lessons. It’s hard but it’s something I really want to do. My missus’ first language is Welsh so she should be able to pick up quicker theoretically!’
Whether he has been with Scotland, or for the past five years at Sheffield United, McBurnie’s off-field demeanour has often set the tone for his play on it.
For now instructions are being translated for him into English and while he is grateful, part of the excitement of going abroad was to fully immerse him in a new way of life, not just knowing how to identify a pen.
‘It’s difficult when you don’t have a full grasp of the language and being the loud person that I am, it’s quite challenging,’ he says.
‘A few of the lads speak really good English and even the ones that don’t try, which is really nice and welcoming. But I don’t want them to. I want them to converse in Spanish and me to be able to converse with them in Spanish as well.
‘That is a big side of it and why I wanted to start the lessons straight away because I want to show my personality. I think that helps my football when I can show my personality off the field, as well. That has been the most challenging thing at the minute, just not being able to be myself because of the language.’
McBurnie (middle) has spent the last five years playing in England with Sheffield United
He is embracing the challenge of going to Spain, with learning the language his top priority
While Duolingo may now be his closest friend, being joined in Gran Canaria by real-life friend and international team-mate Scott McKenna represents a huge boost to both… not least so they can have a bit of competition in who can learn the language the fastest.
‘Since Scott signed, mine sounds a lot more normal now!’ McBurnie joked of his accent, pointing to the former Aberdeen and Nottingham Forest defender’s Kirriemuir drawl that is confusing many in the Las Palmas dressing room.
‘I think I’ve got the upper-hand on Scott with Spanish at the minute,’ he says.
‘It’s funny that sometimes the coach asks me to translate for Scott… I don’t think I’m at that level yet! I can understand a lot more than I can speak. When I hear conversations I generally know the topic they are talking about but it’s just the replying I need to get better at. It’s going to be good.
‘Scott is starting lessons this week and so give us six months and hopefully we’re fluent in Spanish. Hopefully!’
For McBurnie, moving to Europe and testing himself abroad feels like a long time coming.
As a youngster at Bradford City he was close to joining Freiburg in the German Bundesliga, only for the Yorkshire club to pull the plug late on.
And while this year has brought huge highs – the birth of his daughter Mimi chief among them – there have also been devastating lows, such as his brother Xander being diagnosed with cancer back in January.
His girlfriend Niamh and the couple’s newborn are looking forward to starting their life abroad
It has been a tough year for McBurnie (right) after his brother Xander (left) was diagnosed with cancer at the start of 2024. He has since been given the all-clear and is going to Spain to visit
His brother was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and battled chemotherapy with the full support of McBurnie, who is now delighted that Xander has been given the all clear.
With so much turmoil in 2024, he now hopes he can start afresh with life in Spain.
‘It’s been a mad year,’ he admits. ‘At some points it’s been the worst year of my life and at some points it’s been the best year of my life.
‘My daughter was born in June; my brother got diagnosed with cancer in January and he got the all clear last month as well. It’s been some good points and some very, very bad points. I’m looking forward now, there are still a few months left and hopefully I can turn it into a really good year.’
Having made his debut on Friday night at home against Sevilla – and having what appeared to be his first LaLiga goal eventually given as an own goal – McBurnie is off the mark on the pitch. Now it’s all systems go in the classroom to talk about things other than pens.