5 things we learned from Barcelona's pre-season tour

#5 La Masia still has the Midas touch in producing quality players

Riqui Puig was one of several La Masia stars who impressed during Pre-Season

There is arguably no football academy that has produced as many world-class players as La Masia throughout football's annals. And the famed school became the first in history to produce all three Ballon d'Or podium finishers when La Masia graduates Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez all finished in the top three in 2010.

Much of Barcelona's success in the last 15 years has been founded upon a core of La Masia products imbibed with the history and DNA of the team.

Indeed, competition at the school was so intense that multiple world beaters had to leave to seek playing time elsewhere, but after that illustrious generation emerged in the middle of the last decade, not many have made the step up from La Masia to Barcelona greatness.

The last academy product to fully establish himself in the first team was Sergi Roberto way back in 2015, and this lack of promotion has led many to berate the quality of players churned out by La Masia in recent years.

However, to opine that is extremely harsh and devoid of current realities on the ground.

For starters, the increased commercialization of football and need for instant success means that the chances of young players being given opportunities to blossom are much slimmer today than say, a decade ago.

Secondly and perhaps more importantly, the last group of La Masia graduates are extremely difficult acts to follow.

Players like Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol, Pique and Busquets are not only legends in Barcelona, but also among the very best in their respective positions throughout history.

These are all generational talents, and Barcelona hit a pot of gold by having them blossom in and around the same time. Replacing such players is a difficult if not impossible task; La Masia product or otherwise.

Proof of this lies in the fact that the aforementioned six players all occupy a spot among the top eight players with the highest number of appearances in Barcelona's history, with Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets sure to displace Victor Valdez and Migueli from the top six.

So these factors meant the players produced by La Masia in the last five years had to leave to seek playing time elsewhere.

During pre-season, La Masia youngsters like Carlos Alena, Riqui Puig, Oriol Busquets, Carles Perez and Alex Collado were all given ample time to show their quality among the senior players and they did so exceedingly well.

They all showed signs of promise and impressed with their displays, laying credence to the fact that La Masia is still the top hub for the production of football talent.