5 Barcelona academy graduates who are flourishing elsewhere
Barcelona have long boasted of the merits of their superb academy La Masia. The Catalan giants are widely believed to possess the best youth facilities in the world. A quick run-through of the Barcelona academy alumni list will reveal the same. A host of world-class talent from La Masia went on to leave their mark on the footballing landscape.
The wealth of talent produced at La Masia is due to the academy's determined focus on technical and intellectual excellence. This has ensured that Barcelona can call a stream of top-quality academy graduates into the first team. Quite a few of the Blaugrana’s best players started out in the club’s academy.
However, some academy players have to ply their trade elsewhere as they fail to make it in Barcelona's first team. So, without further ado, here is our list of five such La Masia graduates:
#5 Andre Onana | Ajax
After starting off his youth career at the Samuel Eto'o Foundation, La Masia scouts located Andre Onana and signed him back in 2010. By 2015, the star had graduated from Barcelona's academy but made the decision to sign for Dutch outfit Ajax instead.
For two years, the young Onana played in the second division for Ajax's reserve team, picking up 39 appearances.
Andre Onana: “FC Barcelona is my first option. It is my home, I grew up there and have maintained very good contacts with them. At the moment, there is no agreement with Inter Milan.” https://t.co/NcPkokgaWD
However, the club were soon pleased with the La Masia graduate. In 2016, the then-teenager became Ajax's main goalkeeper, making 46 appearances that season.
The talent and promise Onana showed was evident to all, and before long, the youngster was courted by other European juggernauts. However, the star has chosen to remain at Ajax, where he has garnered over 200 appearances. He has also become Cameroon's number one goalkeeper, a spot he has held since 2018.
#4 Dani Olmo | RB Leipzig
Unlike Onana, Dani Olmo made his professional debut in Croatia with Dinamo Zagreb, rather than in the Netherlands.
The youngster was born in the city of Barcelona. After a short stint at Espanyol's academy, he transferred to La Masia. The Spaniard remained at Barca's football school for seven years and graduated in 201. Rather than signing a contract with his boyhood club, Olmo opted to exit.
Barcelona have been in talks with Dani Olmo for weeks.
— @gerardromero https://t.co/ZT5od9vlFh
A transfer to Dinamo Zagreb saw him enter the ranks of the first-team rather quickly, with the star picking up a debut within months. Olmo remained with Zagreb until 2020 when the opportunity to play in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig came.
Now plying his trade in Germany, the 23-year-old has already garnered 79 appearances with Leipzig, scoring 15 goals. He also features for Spain's national team, which is rather difficult to enter.