5 youngest debutants for Barcelona in La Liga

Modified Aug 27, 2019 09:42 GMT

UEFA Champions League - Barcelona v Panathinaikos

Ansu Fati became the youngest ever player to debut for FC Barcelona in almost 70 years when he came on a substitute in the first victory of the season for Barcelona against Real Betis yesterday.

Keeping that in mind and the rich history of being one of the founding members of the league as well as being one of the three clubs to never have been relegated from the league. With all that in mind let's take a look at the 5 youngest debutants for Barcelona in the league since the inception in 1929.

#5 Lionel Messi

FC Barcelona v Arsenal - Pre-Season Friendly

Lionel Messi joined the La Masia academy in 2001 at the age of 13 after 6 years with Newell's Old Boys. The Argentine international quickly rose through the ranks of La Masia and made his way into the Barcelona C 2003.

Lionel Messi made his La Liga debut on the 16th of October 2004, aged 17 and 114 days, coming on in the 82nd minute for Deco. The forward has never looked back since his first appearance.

Lionel Messi is arguably one of the greatest ever players' to play the game and till date the greatest ever player in the history of Barcelona.

#4 Marc Muniesa

FC Barcelona v Bayer 04 Leverkusen - UEFA Champions League Round of 16

Marc Muniesa joined the La Masia academy in 2002 at the age of 10 from hometown club CF Lloret. Muniesa made his La Liga debut against Osasuna on the 23rd of May 2009, making his debut at the age of 17 and 57 days, coming on as a substitute for Sylvinho in the 51st minute. The Spanish defender though had a debut to forget as he was given marching orders following a reckless challenge.

Muniesa never made more than 5 appearances for the senior team and moved to Stoke City in 2013. The Spaniard then moved back to the La Liga in 2017 with Girona. Muniesa now plies his trade in Qatar with Al Arabi, joining the club this season after Girona suffered relegation last season.

#3 Bojan Krkic

There was a time when Bojan Krkic was once considered a better player than Lionel Messi. The Spanish international though failed to make it big in the biggest stage after a promising start.

Bojan made his first step into football as an 8-year-old, joining the Barcelona youth setup in 1999. It was reported that the forward scored over 900 goals across various age groups before making getting his call-up to the first team in 2006.

Bojan Krkic made his La Liga debut on 16th of September, aged 17 and 19 days, against Osasuna as he came on in the 78th minute for Giovanni Dos Santos. The forward 12 goals in his debut season but failed to capitalise on it.

The Spaniard moved to AS Roma in 2010 after failing to get into the first team. Stints with AC Milan, Ajax, Stoke City, Mainz and Alavez soon followed. Bojan Krkic now plies his trade in the MLS with Montreal Impact.

#2 Ansu Fati

The latest entry into this illustrious list, Ansu Fati became the youngest player, aged 16 years 298 days, in more than half a century to make his La Liga debut for the Bluagrana when he came on in the 78th minute for Carles Perez.

The La Masia product joined the Academy in 2013 as a 10-year-old and is believed to by many to be the best player in his age group.

#1 Vicente Martinez

Vicente Martinez remains the youngest ever player to wear the Bluagrana shirt in the La Liga. Martinez made his La Liga debut in 1941 aged 16 years and 278 days.

The Spaniard moved to CS Sabadell after two seasons with Barcelona before returning to the Catalonian capital 2 seasons later. A move to Gimnastic de Tarragona was followed by spells with Linense and San Andreas (now UE Sant Andreu) before calling an end to a 12-season long career with Gimnastic de Tarragona.

Vicente Martinez sadly passed away last year aged 93.

Edited by Aaditya Narayan