FC Barcelona: 5 reasons why the club has lost its identity

#3 Dismantling of the La Masia. (2013-Present)

The La Masia academy has produced some of the finest talents

Pep Guardiola was the chief benefactor of the La Masia. Being part of the same production line himself, Guardiola understood its importance and went about creating a team which would incorporate its precious talents.

In came Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba to go along with the previous generations of La Masia graduates as the club experienced unprecedented success on the field.

The club was replete with both home-grown players and home-grown staff. It formed the basis of their perfect philosophy which brought them numerous titles. The coaching staff had been brought up along the lines of the Catalan 'culture' - coming through the youth systems, then serving for Barcelona B and finally managing the likes of Messi and Co.

Their team comprised of a core group of footballers who were shaped in the same way - all pupils of a definite style, a definite ideology.

Ever since Guardiola left, none of the coaches has been able to nurture the talents, let alone the idea of reaping the benefits from La Masia. Pep's successors prioritized results and 'Madrified' the club - buying finished products aka in the form of Galacticos'.

The club has allowed talented youngsters like Bellerin, Deulofeu, Alex Grimaldo, Marc Bartra and Munir El Haddadi leave the club without giving adequate opportunities to prove themselves. This proved consequential in more than one way and led to the current state where the club is merely a bully in the transfer market.

To compensate for this massive youth drain, they've spent in excess of €200 million on Paco Alcacer, Nelson Semedo, Andre Gomes, Digne, Mina, Vermaelen and co. The question remains, would Samper and Munir do any worse than Gomes and Alcacer?