La Masia’s Products Who Performed Greatly at Other Clubs

DBasia.news –  The introduction of the Johan Cruyff Stadium is proof of the important role of La Masia, the Barcelona academy, in forming the club’s foundation.

Unfortunately, not all La Masia products can fit into Barca’s main squad and shine there like legendary names: Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Victor Valdes, Sergio Busquets, and of course the megastar, Lionel Messi.

In the summer transfer window, Rafinha loaned Barcelona to Celta Vigo. This has been the second time the 26-year-old headed to Celta after being loaned to Inter Milan in 2018. That’s the way of the La Masia product, some can penetrate the Barcelona first team but some are shining with other clubs.

Here are seven products of La Masia Barcelona that have popularized their names with other clubs:

1. Dani Olmo

Winner of the U-21 European Cup with the Spanish national team is one of the new talents in the world of European football. The 21-year-old striker is currently defending Dinamo Zagreb, the Croatian club he has defended from 2015. Dani Olmo is a hot commodity in the player transfer market

2. Hector Bellerin

Following in the footsteps of Cesc Fabregas at Arsenal, is Hector Bellerin. Since moving to the Arsenal academy in 2011 and promotion to the first team in 2013, in the Arsene Wenger era, Hector Bellerin has secured a place on the right side of Arsenal’s defense. Bellerin has rarely appeared lately due to injury.

3. Alex Grimaldo

Difficulty in penetrating Barcelona’s main team, Alex Grimaldo migrated to Portugal and strengthen Benfica since 2015. While there for four years, the 23-year-old left-back attracted the attention of European talent scouts with his ability to survive and rise to help the attack.

4. Andre Onana

The Cameroon goalkeeper could have followed the footsteps of Victor Valdes if Barca did not have Marc Andre ter Stegen. However, Andre Onana’s road to success is set to be successful with other clubs. Onana has defended Ajax Amsterdam since 2016 and has won an Eredivisie title.

5. Mauro Icardi

The striker, who has often created controversy with his wife, was also at La Masia from the mid-2008-2011 before heading to the Sampdoria academy at the age of 15. In fact, Mauro Icardi instead appeared with Sampdoria, Inter Milan, and now he is at PSG.

6. Mikel Arteta

Failing to break into Barcelona’s main squad, Mikel Arteta then migrated to PSG, Rangers, Real Sociedad, until finally finding consistency with Everton and Arsenal. Now, he is an assistant manager at Manchester City.

7. Pepe Reina

For two years this La Masia product defended Barcelona in the mid 2000-2002. However, the arrival of Robert Enke disturbed Reina’s place until he traveled to Villarreal, Liverpool, Naples, Bayern Munich and Milan. Reina recorded his achievements precisely when strengthening Liverpool and Naples.