7 Hidden Gems: Former Barcelona Wonders Still Shining in Obscure Leagues Worldwide
Barcelona Barcelona’s La Masia has nurtured numerous exceptional talents throughout the years, including icons like Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and Sergio Busquets in the past, as well as current stars such as Pedri and Gavi.
However, not all gifted academy prospects succeed at Barcelona or compete at the highest levels elsewhere. Many of these alumni have faded from prominence, now playing for less recognizable teams.
Below are seven players who emerged from the Barcelona youth system and are now plying their trade in some of the lesser-known leagues globally.
Cristian Tello
You may recall Tello rising to prominence as a skilled team player during Pep Guardiola’s dominant tenure in the early 2010s.
The winger netted 20 goals in 86 appearances for his childhood team before going on to have a commendable career at a reasonable standard, playing for clubs such as Porto, Fiorentina, and Real Betis.
During his later years, Tello has played in Major League Soccer for LAFC and in the Saudi Pro League for Al-Fateh, as well as currently for recently promoted club Al-Nasr. In this team, he joins a varied locker room alongside players like Kurt Zouma, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, and former Barcelona transfer target Jean Michael Seri.
Konrad de la Fuente
A few years back, We completely fell for the Konrad hype. .
Many had high hopes for the Florida-native wing player from La Masia as he was expected to become a key figure at both Barcelona and the United States national team, yet he has not managed to achieve the level of play everyone anticipated.
De la Fuente debuted for the national team in 2020, though he had limited additional appearances. He failed to secure a spot with Barcelona’s main squad and transferred to Marseille in 2021 hoping for increased playing time.
However, game time was restricted even at the Vélodrome Stadium. Loans to Olympiacos and Eibar did not revitalize his career. Last summer, he transferred to Lausanne-Sport from the Swiss Super League. But most of his appearances this season have come as a substitute.
So far this season, he has recorded one assist and zero goals in 19 matches played in Switzerland's top division.
Sergi Samper
Those who observed Barcelona’s youth squads during the early 2010s were convinced that Samper was destined to be the next Sergio Busquets.
It didn't pan out as expected. Samper only managed one La Liga game with his local team and failed to make much of an impact during stints on loan at Granada and Las Palmas.
In 2019, he departed from Barcelona and joined forces with his longtime friend Andrés Iniesta at the Japanese club Vissel Kobe for four years. Later, he made a return to Europe to ink a deal with FC Andorra, which is owned by Gerard Piqué.
Last summer, he signed with Motor Lublin, a recently promoted team from Poland that has been performing surprisingly well in the upper part of the Ekstraklasa standings.
Marc Muniesa
Another frequent visitor at Barca B who never managed to break into the main squad, Muniesa has led an interesting career journey.
Following four seasons in the Premier League with Stoke City, the defender went back to Catalonia to join Girona as they were establishing themselves in La Liga.
Subsequent years have seen him play his football in Qatar (Al-Arabi), Denmark (Lyngby) and back to Qatar (his current club, Al Shahaniya)
Martin Montoya
Another M-M defender from La Masia, it’s easy to confuse him with Muniesa. Even the pros mix them up occasionally.
At Barcelona, Montoya had a slightly larger presence with the first team before moving on to play for Valencia, Brighton, and Real Betis after leaving Camp Nou in 2016.
The 33-year-old right-back has entered his second year with the Greek Super League club, sharing a locker room with another La Masia alumnus named Monchu, ex-Madrid youth player Juankar, and popular Football Manager figure Pione Sisto.
READ: What have become of them? The seven players released by Barcelona back in 2015.
Jon Toral
The midfielder developed through Barcelona’s youth system along with Samper, with whom he spent eight years playing at different levels.
However, he left the team sooner, much like Cesc Fabregas did, to further his growth by joining Arsene Wenger’s squad at Arsenal.
Sadly, he never fully managed to break through at Arsenal and ended up signing with Hull City following several loan spells elsewhere.
Following his tenure of three years at OFI in Greece, Toral signed with Mumbai City during the previous summer. This Indian Super League team is predominantly owned by theCity Football Group.
Dani Pacheco
You might not be aware that Pacheco honed his skills at La Masia. Liverpool actually signed him directly from Barcelona when he was a teenager way back in 2009.
The midfielder failed to make an impact at Anfield and has primarily played in Spain throughout his career, representing several teams including Rayo Vallecano, Huesca, Alcorcón, Real Betis, Alavés, Getafe, Málaga, and Logroñes.
Over the past several years, he has been playing in Poland, and last summer he left Gornik Zabrze to join the second-division team Wisla Plock. His journey hasn't turned out as expected compared to when people were praising him as the future star at Liverpool.
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