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Barcelona is one of the most important clubs in football's history. For a long time, the Catalan club has been a pioneer in developing new and progressive footballing ideologies. A common factor, across all of their eras, has been their emphasis on developing young prodigies from their famous academy - La Masia.
La Masia is an esteemed institution across all of Europe. Young players often dream about arriving at this institution and being part of the Barcelona first team. La Masia, after all, has produced one of the greatest players ever to grace the footballing world - Lionel Messi.
There have been times when Barcelona have required a revival in their form. For this, they have always returned to the basics and gone back to their academy to find their next set of superstars.
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Pep Guardiola did the same when he assembled his champion Barcelona team which went on to win everything in football. Guardiola's core team majorly comprised of La Masia graduates. These are players who, after all, understand what it is like to play for FC Barcelona and its values.
The current team does comprise of numerous La Masia graduates. Barcelona's management have looked to revive their academy and return to their glory days. However, current players such as Jordi Alba will miss out on our list as they were originally released by the club.
On that note, let's take a look at the
Top 5 current Barcelona players who graduated from the club’s academy
#5 Riqui Puig
Riqui Puig is a twenty-two year old central-midfielder for FC Barcelona. He is a player who has come through Barcelona's glorious academy - La Masia. During his time there, he racked up fifty-six appearances for Barcelona B and scored two goals.
But with Ronald Koeman at the helm and a transitioning Barcelona squad, he is finding playing time hard to come by and is most often seen on their bench. So far he has only made twenty-nine appearances for the first team and scored one goal.
He has already been tipped for greater success by top managers. Gattuso has previously called Puig a spectacular talent after he shone in a performance against his AC Milan team. It means Barcelona surely have a lot of potential on their hands with Riqui Puig in their ranks.
#4 Ansu Fati
Ansu Fati is a superstar in the making for European giants Barcelona. After he miraculously broke into the first team, it meant that another La Masia graduate would be featuring for Barcelona.
Fati presently holds the record of being the second-youngest player to represent Barcelona, as he made his debut at just sixteen years of age.
He has a total of forty-one appearances and thirteen goals to his name. Ansu Fati is surely ready to become the next Barcelona superstar as he makes a return from injury in his team's latest fixture in La Liga.
#3 Sergi Roberto
Sergi Roberto is a twenty-nine-year-old midfielder for FC Barcelona. Roberto previously featured as a full-back in his earlier days at the club. He is now an indispensable member of the Barcelona midfield under Ronald Koeman.
He is a player who has been a part of the glorious history of Barcelona. Roberto's spectacular performance against PSG in 2017 was one that stood out remarkably. He scored a ninety-fifth minute goal to complete the Remontada for Barcelona as they sealed a 6-1 victory.
He has made a total of 416 appearances and scored 19 goals for Barcelona. Sergi Roberto is one of the standout players to have ever graduated from La Masia.
#2 Sergio Busquets
Sergio Busquets is a player who has enjoyed superstar status for FC Barcelona. He has put in some remarkable performances throughout his career in the Barcelona midfield. Busquets has gone on to change the definition of a defensive midfielder and make the position his very own.
He has made a total of 660 professional appearances to his name for FC Barcelona and counting. The Spaniard has won the Champions League thrice and has become an eight-time Spanish La Liga winner and a seven-time Spanish Cup winner with Barcelona. Busquets is surely one of the most successful products of La Masia.
#1 Gerard Pique
Gerard Pique is surely one of the most successful talents to ever play the game for FC Barcelona. Having played for the majority of his youth in La Masia, he left to join English giants Manchester United. However, after four years away, in 2008, Pique re-signed for his boyhood club and became one of the most important defenders in their history.
With a total of 571 appearances to his name for the Blaugaurana, Pique is probably the most successful La Masia graduate to still be playing for the side.
Pique is a four-time Champions League winner (3 with Barcelona and 1 with Man United). He is also an English champion with Manchester United, an eight-time winner of the Spanish First Division and a seven-time Spanish Cup winner. He has also gone on to win the World Cup in 2010, and the European Championship in 2012 with the Spanish national team.
Gerard Pique is the best La Masia graduate to still be playing for Barcelona in the 2021-22 campaign.
