Will La Masia save Barcelona? Seven academy stars featured in La Liga opener

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Face Bilbao tonight 

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 last weekend due to the La Liga salary limits. Barca, however, allowed Ilkay Gundogan to depart for free to wipe his salary but Olmo still won’t feature against Athletic Bilbao tonight. But 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? 

Hansi Flick’s managerial debut for Barcelona got underway with 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. 

 Barcelona’s starting eleven had an average age of just 24 years and 302 days which is the youngest Barca team since Pep Guardiola’s managerial debut against Wisla Krakow in 2008. But was 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 12 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.

What does the future hold for Barcelona?

All eyes will be on Nico Williams tonight as the Athletic Bilbao superstar will line up against the club who wanted to sign him this summer. Williams and Yamal dazzled for Spain at Euro 2024 and the latter – 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 Marc Bernal. The 17-year-old was excelled on his full debut against Valencia in centre-midfield and he’s been compared to Barca great Busquets. 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.”

 Barcelona are in the process of reshaping their squad and they will offload several players to balance the books and raise funds for new additions. Mikayil Faye is on the verge of joining Rennes, Vitor Roque will join Real Betis on loan and Clement Lenglet will move to Atlético Madrid until the end of the season. Barcelona had the most valuable collection of U21 talents at the end of last season and the future looks bright in terms of their academy graduates. If they can avoid their transfer problems of previous seasons and re-shape their squad around their La Masia starlets then there are reasons for optimism.