The Masia is back. After a few years during which the training center blaugrana Not necessarily released big players, the first team of the Catalan club is again carried by many products from the Barcelona Academy. Lamine Yamal, Marc Casado, Gavi, Fermin Lopez, Pau Cubarsi or Alejandro Baldé to name a few. And the arrival generations are just as interesting, like the U19 team which won UEFA Youth League this season, the equivalent of the Champions League for this age category. Suffice to say that in Barcelona we rub our hands and we turn to the future with a certain optimism. But Barcelona trainers are also likely to be victims of their success …
Indeed, in recent months, many big European clubs – and not only – want to offer themselves the Barcelona nuggets of tomorrow. It must be said that Barça is rarely in a position of strength in these files, since the club has the internal policy not to offer wages or disproportionate advantages to its younger players, with obvious exceptions like Lamine Yamal. Other clubs can therefore convince these relatively easily young people with relatively high emoluments, and the promise of a first team place fairly quickly. Last summer, Marc Guiu, for example, decided to fly to Chelsea. And lately, examples have multiplied.
Sports and financial losses
Arnau Pradas, dribbler and unbalanced winger of 19 years and one of the main craftsmen of the title in Youth League, will leave the club as indicated Sport. His destiny is not yet known but he has many proposals in Europe, and he has already said at Barça that he would not extend his contract which expires at the end of the month. His teammate Hugo Alba, 19 -year -old striker, will sign him in Belgrade. Aleix Garrido, captain of team B, will join Eibar, also refusing to extend. Earlier this season, UNAI Hernandez, then captain of Barça B, joined Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, while Pau Prim, another environment considered very promising, should join Al-Sadd in Qatar. A boring problem in sport – a player like Marc Guiu would have had some opportunities this season – but not only.
It is obvious that all these players would not necessarily have had a place in the first team over time, but in most cases, even if there are sometimes a few small checks which are recovered, Barça misses a possible interesting sale. As we know, a few first team games can sometimes increase the value of a player in a substantial way, just as some players have liberating clauses that are activated after a certain number of matches in A. If Unai Hernandez had played a few games under the orders of Hansi Flick, Barça could surely have more than 4.5 million euros. That these young people leave so early is therefore a real concern. But what is certain is that the management of the Catalan club, convinced that the best hopes will choose to stay despite the financial component, does not want to review its policy of contracts with young people. Notice to the interested parties, there are good deals at the Masia!
