Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal, Marc Guiu - La Masia is SAVING Barcelona
Tom Weber
- Updated: 25 Oct 2023 20:23 BST
- 4 min read
Barcelona's La Masia academy is a gold mine that can save the cash-strapped club.
Injuries to several key players have forced Blaugrana head coach Xavi to look for in-house solutions. Barcelona, still in a dire economic state, can't maintain the kind of bloated squad filled to the brim with star players like, for example, Chelsea did last season.
The need to find players to make up the numbers has seen the club legend turn to several youngsters - and all of them have impressed. This has, once again, nicely illustrated just what a ridiculous talent factory La Masia truly is. It becomes all the more impressive when you consider that the club even allowed several highly talented players to simply walk away in the summer in search of game time.
READ: Chelsea and Man City to pounce on wonderkid Barcelona could be FORCED to sell
The current La Masia contingent in Barcelona's senior squad could be even bigger had Ilias Akhomach and Ez Abde decided to stay - though in the case of Abde, it is questionable whether you can classify him as a La Masia graduate. These two attackers decided to head to other LaLiga clubs for regular minutes.
La Masia can save Barca
While Akhomach departed for free, Abde flushed €7.5 million into the club's coffers. If Barcelona are prepared to sacrifice some of their youngsters, they could use the funds generated to overcome their financial difficulties. Gavi, to name just one player, is perennially linked with a Premier League move; perhaps the Catalans will eventually have to bite the bullet and accept that he needs to be sold.
Better yet, they could build a team around their La Masia stars. We are already seeing glimpses of what this could look like. In their Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk, Fermin Lopez was arguably the best player on the pitch, rewarding himself with the winning goal.
READ: Barcelona target Ligue 1 giant on free transfer
16-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal also started the game, while Alejandro Balde, Marc Guiu and Marc Casado all came off the bench. In fact, out of their current crop of La Masia players who have made a matchday squad for the first team, Barcelona could almost form an entire starting eleven.
It would be a decent team, too, only lacking a top-class striker and a centre-back to partner with Eric Garcia, who is currently flying high on loan at LaLiga surprise package Girona. If you add academy graduates who sought their luck elsewhere like the aforementioned Akhomach or Leipzig star Dani Olmo, it becomes evident just how much talent - and potential income - La Masia produces on an annual basis.
