HOW BARCELONA'S LA MASIA ACADEMY STARTED PRODUCING WORLD-CLASS TALENT AGAIN

Barcelona are one of the greatest teams in football history. So much of their success has been built upon producing their own talent through the fabled La Masia Academy.

Indeed, over the years, many club icons have been homegrown. The likes of Xavi Hernandez, Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Pep Guardiola, Gerard Pique and even Lionel Messi – perhaps the greatest player of all time – came through La Masia.

For a period, however, the Catalan giants seemed to struggle to produce the calibre of players capable of making a consistent impression at senior level. But over the past few seasons, amid the recent emergence of talented youngsters such as Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Pau Cubarsi, the Barcelona academy seems back to its best. But what has changed?

Xavi Relies Upon La Masia

Financial issues force emphasis on youth

As a La Masia product himself, Xavi has been vital to getting the best out of the club's academy since he took charge as manager in 2021. And when he departs at the end of the 2023/24 season, the Spaniard will leave Barca with a whole array of top talents for the next head coach to inherit.

The most important factor behind the youth resurgence has simply been the opportunities afforded. Xavi has handed out 15 debuts to academy players during his time in charge. But part of that has been due to financial restraints preventing the club from spending as much as they would like on transfers.

Barcelona's money struggles were well-documented, with Messi forced to leave with their debt standing at close to £1 billion at the time of his departure. What has happened in the seasons since, though, has been far more positive.

While levers were pulled to help land some key senior players such as Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, and bargains have been found to bring in Ilkay Gundoğan and others on free transfers, with loan deals also helping facilitate moves for Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo, the build of the rest of the squad has been improved by the emergence of some fine youngsters.

As things stand, Gavi, Yamal, Alejandro Balde, Cubarsi, and Fermin Lopez are all key members of the senior set-up, while Hector Fort and Marc Guiu are also young talents to have played at times this term. Sergi Roberto, Oriol Romeu and Inaki Pena are the elder statesmen to have come through La Masia too.

With 2022 Golden Boy winner Gavi out injured, Yamal is the current jewel in the crown. Still only 16 years of age, the young winger has already proven himself to be one of the best young players in world football. Pedri can also be counted on that list, although technically is not a Barcelona product having arrived from Las Palmas as a teenager.

On Yamal, Xavi has praised the youngster's temperament and suggested that he is good enough to "mark an era in football". In full, he said:

"I see him very calm. He is very measured in the sense that he is digesting everything that is happening to him very well, despite his young age. He is a mature person, he is responsible, he is aware of the situation he is experiencing. He's very humble and he's showing us that he's a differential player. He is a player that can mark an era in football, especially at Barcelona. Hopefully we can always enjoy him at this level. He's a teenage boy who's growing up. On a mental level, he is a cheerful, joking boy. He's enjoying himself. He's happy."

Why La Masia Struggled

Joan Laporta's departure and return key

To give Ronald Koeman some credit, he also played a key part in helping the club get the best out of its homegrown options. Once more constricted by financial issues, the Dutchman trusted Ansu Fati as a key member of his team – although things haven't worked out so well since for the winger now on loan at Brighton. He also was behind the introduction of midfielders Pedri and Gavi, giving both men their debuts.

Before that, the club had been going through a dark period. Players were often hyped up too early – take for instance Gerard Deulofeu, Bojan Krkic, and Takefusa Kubo all tipped to be 'the next Messi' – while big-money signings were preferred ahead of having the patience to trust in youth.

Joan Laporta was there for the glory years of La Masia's modern era featuring Iniesta, Xavi and co, but when new president Josep Bartomeu took over in 2014 things took a turn for the worse. Notable flops such as Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and Malcom all arrived but failed to impress, while only Sergi Roberto emerged as a reliable club graduate in this period – with players like Xavi Simons and Riqui Puig leaving for various reasons.

Laporta eventually returned in 2021, and coupled with the need for more financial stability, and the arrival of Xavi, Barcelona have kick-started their football superstar production line over the past few seasons. It will certainly be interesting to see what exactly happens to the current crop of youngsters.

Stats via Transfermarkt (as of 22/04/24).

2024-04-22T22:30:04Z dg43tfdfdgfd