5 best Barcelona academy stars who moved elsewhere in recent years

#3 Konrad de la Fuente (Marseille)

Konrad paved the way for Americans in Barcelona's academy

Konrad de la Fuente, a graduate of the La Masia academy, became the first American to represent Barcelona when he made his first team debut against Gimnàstic Tarragona in 2020. The 20-year-old forward has gone from strength to strength since that auspicious day, going on to make two more appearances for Barcelona's senior team.

This goal from Marseille is so good! Konrad de la Fuente to Gerson who cuts it back for Cengiz Under to score ⚽️Fantastic rapid attacking football from Jorge Sampaoli's side 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/LX9fqbh4ot

— BirdieFootball (@birdiefootball) August 16, 2021

Primarily a left-winger, Konrad is equally adept at playing on either wing. The American played a pivotal role in the B team's promotional push, pitching in with six goals and four assists.

His tremendous pace and dribbling skills turned many heads last season, prompting Ronald Koeman to hand Konrad his first appearance in a Blaugrana shirt. The winger came off the bench against Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League to make his competitive debut for Barcelona.

With Barcelona possessing a hoard of players in his position, the former academy laureate was shipped off to Marseille for a cut-price rate of €3m. However, acknowledging his prodigious potential, the Catalans added a clause that will enable them to fetch 50 percent of any future transfer fee for him.

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#2 Carles Perez (Roma)

Perez playing European football for Roma

Carles Perez joined Barcelona's academy as a 14-year-old from cross-town rivals Espanyol. After steadily rising through the ranks in La Masia, Perez was promoted to the B-team in 2017. The Catalan playmaker went on to score seven goals in the UEFA Youth League that season as Barcelona's youth side defeated Chelsea to lift the coveted title.

The 23-year-old Spanish international announced himself to the footballing world in emphatic fashion after scoring Barcelona's opening goal against Inter in a group stage match of the 2019-20 Champions League. His superlative form earned him an €11m move to Roma in 2020.

🚨 Newcastle United have started talks with Roma to sign Carles Perez 🇪🇸 on a permanent deal. The Italian club wants around €12-14M. #NUFC #ASRoma(via @DiMarzio🌕)

— Football Transfers (@Transferzone00) August 15, 2021

Even though the skilled winger has failed to nail down a starting berth in his one-and-a-half years in the Italian capital, Perez still has time on his side. After an impressive pre-season that saw him score three goals in two games, the Spaniard has reportedly gained Jose Mourinho's trust.

The Portuguese manager seems to consider Perez an important part of his plans for his debut season as Roma boss.

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#1 Juan Miranda (Real Betis)

Juan Miranda provided three-goal contributions in his debut season with Betis

Over the years, Barcelona have let an ample number of academy left-backs slip through the cracks: Alex Grimaldo in 2015, Marc Cucurella in 2020 and, most recently, Juan Miranda in 2021.

While Grimaldo and Cucurella have hogged a lot of praise due to their immense talents, Miranda has quietly made a name for himself in the past few seasons.

Having joined Barcelona's fabled youth academy at the tender age of 14, the Andalusian defender went on to spend another seven years contracted to the Catalan club. Following a decent loan spell with Schalke, Miranda secured a successive temporary move away from the Camp Nou to Real Betis in 2020.

Youssouf Sabaly and Juan Miranda are Real Betis’ two best full-backs, but Martín Montoya and Álex Moreno start in Mallorca. Opening goal comes down Montoya’s flank and Moreno forced off with injury before 30 minutes. Weak link.

— Sam Leveridge (@samleveridge) August 14, 2021

The 21-year-old exploded onto the scene, playing 25 matches for Los Verdiblancos. He was even preferred by Manuel Pellegrini over their regular left-back Alex Moreno, towards the end of last season. As such, Betis wasted no time in securing a permanent move for him this summer.

With no immediate cover for Jordi Alba at left-back and academy prospect Alejandro Balde still untested, Miranda's potential return to Barcelona in the near future could be a real possibility.

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