La Masia: A profit-loss quandary for FC Barcelona

The premises of La Masia outlined by the Camp Nou.

A pretty similar scenario prevails in the midfield as well. With Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets in the team, it’s quite admissible that it would be a Herculean task to replace one among them unless issues of injuries or suspensions arise.

This brings one to the curious case of Thiago Alcantara, the extremely gifted La Masia product who was tipped to fill in the boots of Xavi, who in turn is reaching the twilight of his career at 33.

With the arrival of Barcelona’s prodigal son, Fabregas, Thiago’s hopes of filling a position in midfield seemed diminished for at least the next five years. Seeing the lack of opportunities to play, he decided to leave for greener pastures.

The youngster is expected to kick-start his career under his mentor and former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich. Thiago, who scored a hat-trick in the finals of the European U-21 Championships, will hope to get enough playing time to increase his prospects of making Vicente Del Bosque’s squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The transfer amount rumoured to be €25m is a real steal for the Bavarians. But Barca will need someone to fill the void and a B team player should be considered. 21-year-old Sergi Roberto, who rose through the grades of La Masia, has shown real promise and looks the best bet to take Thiago’s place.

In the middle of all this melodrama in midfield, what added fuel to the fire was the needless signing of Alex Song from Arsenal last season. With a top centre-back’s arrival anticipated, Javier Mascherano, who has spent most of his Barcelona career playing in defence, is expected to start competing for his primary position in defensive midfield.

That means eight players, namely Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Fabregas, Song, Roberto, Jonathan Dos Santos and Mascherano, will all be vying for three spots in central midfield next season.

This erroneous transfer policy has already done damage. Neymar’s presence has put a question mark over the futures of Deulofeu, Rafa Alcantara, Cuenca and Tello. Further, the presence of Song and Mascherano has already had its impact on Thiago and will definitely hinder the growth of Dos Santos and Roberto.

To at least mend this problem partially, some of these young talents must be loaned out so as to assess their quality, adaptability and versatility without losing them. Barcelona has done a good job with Deulofeu’s loan to Everton as he will get playing time while Rafinha Alcantara is expected to spend a year in Celta de Vigo, on loan.

If next season is going to be a repeat of the current one for some of these potential stars, Barcelona should be worried as talented youngsters like Oriol Romeu, Mauro Icardi and Gai Assulin have all left in search of playing time.

Therefore, Barcelona must look to emend their transfer policy and ensure that they hold on to the likes of Joseph Ondoa, Macky Frank Bagnack, Carles Planas, Deulofeu, Javi Espinosa, Sergi Samper, Roberto, Rafa Alcantara, Kiko Femenia and Jean Marie Dongou.

With proper usage of their academy, success would be assured for years to come. All they need to do is take advantage of La Masia and cut out on superfluous expenditure.

The following list comprises of players who graduated from La Masia and are currently playing competitively at top leagues across Europe.

Barcelona: Víctor Valdés, Carles Puyol, Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Xavier Hernández, Marc Bartra, Martín Montoya, Jonathan Dos Santos, Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodriguez, Isaac Cuenca and Cristian Tello, Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba.

Across Europe: Oriol Romeu Vidal (Valencia, on loan from Chelsea), Iago Falqué (Tottenham), Bojan Krkic (Ajax, on loan from Barcelona), Pepe Reina (Napoli, on loan from Liverpool), Luis Alberto (Liverpool), Mauro Icardi (Internazionale) Jordi Gomez (Wigan), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Ignasi Miquel (Arsenal), Thiago Motta (PSG), Gai Assulin (Racing Santander), Nolito (Celta de Vigo), Victor Vazquez (Club Brugge), Gerard Deulofeu (Everton, on loan from Barcelona), Thiago Alcântara (Bayern Munich), Marc Muniesa (Stoke City).

Spanish Liga: Trashorras, Ruben Martinez, Sergio Rodriguez (Rayo Vallecano), Fernando Navarro and Botia (Sevilla), Marc Valiente, Peña, Lluis Sastre (Real Valladolid), Victor Sanchez, Baena, Sergio García (Espanyol), Joan Verdú (Real Betis) Giovanni Dos Santos (Villarreal), Andreu Fontàs (Celta de Vigo), Victor Rodriguez (Real Zaragoza), Rafinha Alcantara (Celta de Vigo, on loan from Barcelona).