Barcelona is one of the greatest teams in the history of football. Much of their success has been built on nurturing their own talent through the legendary La Masia Academy.
In fact, over the years, many of Barcelona's icons have grown up in Barça native. Xavi, Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Pep Guardiola, Pique and even Messi – perhaps the greatest player of all time – are all from La Masia.
However, for a period of time, it seemed difficult for Barcelona to develop players who could impress in the high leagues. But over the past few seasons, the La Masia Academy seems to be back at its best with the emergence of talented youngsters such as Gavi, Lamine Yamal and Paolo Cupbasi. But what has changed?
Current Barcelona La Masia Rising Star!
Harvey relied on La Masia
Xavi, who is produced by La Masia, has been trying to get the most out of the La Masia academy since he took over as Barça's head coach in 2021. When he leaves Barcelona at the end of the 2023/24 season, he will leave a large number of top talents for the next manager.
The most important factor behind La Masia's youth resurgence is opportunity. Xavi has already made his debut for 15 Academy players during his time in charge of Barcelona. But this is partly due to financial constraints that prevent teams from spending as much money on transfers.
Barca's financial difficulties are obvious to all, and when Messi was forced to leave, Barca's debt was close to £1 billion. What happened in the following seasons, though, was much more positive. While pulling the lever to help the team bring in key veterans such as Raphinha and Lewandowski, it also brought in Gundogan and others at a low price through free transfers, and facilitated the transfers of Felix and Cancelo through loan deals.
Currently, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, Balde, Paulo Cupius and Fermín López are all key members of Barcelona's first team, while Héctor Ford and Marc Gieu are also young talents who have featured this season. Sergi Roberto, Oriol Romeu and Iñaki Peña are also veterans from La Masia.
With 2022 Golden Boy winner Gavi out injured, Ramin Yamal is the jewel in the crown. At just one year old, the young winger has proven himself to be one of the best young players in world football. Pedri is also on the list, although by blood, he is not a pure La Masia product, having only come to La Masia from Las Palmas as a teenager. As for Lamine Yamal, Xavi was immensely impressed by the young star and said he was enough to "mark an era in football".
Why La Masia is struggling
Former boss Ronald Koeman also played a key role in helping Barcelona make the most of their homegrown players. The Dutch manager, who was once constrained by financial problems, has placed his trust in Ansu Fati as a key member of the squad, although the winger, now on loan at Brighton, is not in a good situation. He also contributed to the arrival of midfielders Pedri and Gavi to make their debuts.
Prior to this, the club had gone through a period of darkness. Players are often hyped prematurely, with the likes of Gerard Deulofeu and Bojan Korkic being considered the "next Messi", while teams are more willing to spend big money on players than patiently trust youngsters.
Barcelona's current president, Joan Laporta, saw the glory days of the previous generation of La Masia stars Andres Iniesta and Xavi, but things took a turn for the worse when new president Bartomeu took office in 2014. High-profile stars such as Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and Malcom joined the team at high prices but failed to impress, while only Roberto emerged as a reliable La Masia product during this period, while players such as Harvey Simons and Ricky Pucci left for various reasons.
Laporta's eventual return in 2021, coupled with the need for more financial stability and Xavi's arrival, has allowed Barça to kick-start their superstar line over the past few seasons. Let's wait and see what happens to the current group of young people.