Are Barcelona back? Four points ahead of Real Madrid with La Masia key

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4 points clear of Real Madrid 

Barcelona are undisputedly one of the biggest clubs in the world but they’ve faced extreme financial hardship in recent years. It’s been reported that the Catalonia club have amassed debts of over €2 billion and they’ve infamously pulled monetary ‘levers’ – including selling off percentages of future broadcast revenue – to avoid grave danger.  Barcelona president Joan Laporta also secured a €600m loan from Goldman Sachs to alleviate financial pressures but they’ve faced issues in registering players due to financial rules.

That continued this summer with Barcelona unable to register Dani Olmo for their season opener against Valencia due to salary limits. Barca, however, allowed İlkay Gündoğan to depart for free to wipe his salary and Olmo has made an instant impact with two goals in his opening two games. Barcelona have made the perfect start to the La Liga season under new boss Hansi Flick with four wins from four and their 7-0 nil demolition against Valladolid on Sunday ensured they entered the international break four points ahead of arch rivals Real Madrid. 

Barcelona’s brilliant start to the season under Hansi Flick 

As has been the case in recent years, there was huge uncertainty around how Barcelona would start life under Flick, especially as they had several first-team stars injured. But it simply couldn’t have gone much better with four consecutive wins, 13 goals scored and they sit top of La Liga – four points ahead of Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. Their 7-0 win over Valladolid was their biggest win in almost seven years and they are playing some brilliant football under Flick. Robert Lewandowski has four league goals, Raphinha has three and Yamal leads La Liga with four assists. 

It’s still far too early to label Barcelona as favourites to win La Liga – that remains Real Madrid – but there’s now plenty signs of encouragement for the future, and that’s mainly due to La Masia. One silver lining from Barcelona’s financial woes is the importance it places on developing academy players with the Spanish giants simply unable to spend as recklessly as the past. La Masia is arguably the most prestigious academy in the world but could it now save Barcelona?

Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy 

La Masia de Can Planes became Barcelona’s academy headquarters in the late 1970s and it has produced several world class talents that were central to their most successful side under Pep Guardiola between 2008 and 2012. Louis van Gal was famously ridiculed for stating his dream of winning the Champions League with eleven homegrown players but Guardiola achieved that with eight La Masia graduates in 2009. 

In November 2012, Barcelona fielded eleven players from La Masia against Levante and the three finalists for the 2010 Ballon d’Or all progressed through Barcelona’s academy – Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi. Those three World Class players were integral to Guardiola’s Barcelona side that is regarded by many as the best club side in history. Sergio Busquetes, Carlos Puyol, Victor Valdes and Gerard Pique were the other academy graduates from that side. 

Will La Masia save Barcelona from financial woes? 

Flick’s managerial debut for Barcelona resulted in an impressive 2-1 win over Valencia. But arguably more eye-catching was the German giving minutes to seven academy graduates in his first match in charge of Barcelona. Flick also started three 17-year-olds at the Mestalla in Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí and Marc Bernal. It was only the second time in the 21st century that Barcelona have started three U18 players, with Xavi achieving the feat in May 2024 when Hector Fort joined Cubrasi and Yamal in the starting line-up. 

The three 17-year-old’s started in Barcelona’s first three games before Bernal picked up a serious injury against Ray Vallecano and missed the rout over Valladolid. But has Flick’s hand forced by injuries and their financial situation or is there a genuine hope that Barcelona’s academy graduates could form the foundation of another successful team. “It is difficult to say,” said Ivan Fuente, La Liga expert at Transfermarkt. “There are obviously very good players, but I think Barcelona are using them because of their financial problems. Most of them would not have the option of playing in the first team if they did not have money problems.” Barcelona re-signed Olmo from RB Leipzig for €55m but they now have 11 La Masia graduates in their first-team squad and could name an impressive starting eleven purely from those players – as illustrated in the graphic above.

Yamal dazzled for Spain at Euro 2024 and the most valuable teenager in the world is the figurehead for a new era at Barcelona. Yamal, Gavi, Alejandro Balde, Olmo and Cubrasi represent the future at Barcelona – as could Bernal. The 17-year-old excelled on his full debut against Valencia in centre-midfield and he’s been compared to Barca great Busquets but he’s suffered a serious injury recently. Fuente added: “He is probably one of the best of his generation, but he plays in a position of great responsibility. Comparing him to Busquets or expecting him to be Busquets just now, might be too much pressure for him.” It’s been an excellent start to the season for Barcelona and the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel is glowing bright.