Over the years, Barcelona’s famous La Masia youth academy has been the breeding ground of many legends, including the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Lionel Messi.
The unending supply line of La Masia has helped Barcelona immensely in imposing its style of play across Europe.
In recent years, a sudden dip in producing such talents has haunted Barcelona time and time again, with very few promising talents coming through the ranks as mismanagement and indecorous nurturing from the club’s hierarchy didn’t help in bringing the best out of those prodigies.
However, with the emergence of players such as Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig, and very recently, Ronald Araujo has given a tiny bit of hope to every Barcelona well-wisher that a resurrection of old La Masia might be just around the corner.
With Lionel Messi, probably the best La Masia graduate in history, still around, Barcelona are trying to promote young and exciting talents, who can don the Blaugrana colours in the upcoming years and bring the glory days back to the Camp Nou.
So, we have ranked Barcelona’s most valuable academy products at this moment.
#10 Sergio Busquets (Barcelona, €28m)
Veteran Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets has a potential value of €28 million in the current transfer market.
The 31-year-old deep-lying midfielder has played a key role in Barcelona’s success in the last decade, making more than 550 appearances.
Despite having a mediocre season by his very own high standards, Busquets is still counted amongst the first few names to be on the Barcelona playing XI, and the Catalan giants have suffered very much whenever the Spaniard has been absent from the squad.
#9 Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig, €31.5m)
RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Dani Olmo arrived at Barcelona’s youth facilities at a very early age from neighbours Espanyol.
However, in 2014, at the age of 16, Olmo joined Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb before moving to Bundesliga giants RB Leipzig in January 2020.
The former La Masia product, who has a potential market value of €31.5 million on his back, has earned the praise of several football pundits with his impressive displays in the Bundesliga.
#8 Hector Bellerin (Arsenal, €32m)
Known for his pace and ability to take on players, Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin has made a name for himself in north London since moving from Barcelona in 2011.
Despite starting his club football career in Barcelona’s youth academy, Bellerin was forced to move out of Catalonia in order to fulfil his potential.
The Spaniard is currently valued at €32 million, with his stocks seeing a dip due to the full-back’s injury issues in the past few seasons.
#7 Andre Onana (Ajax, €36m)
Occupying the seventh spot on the list is Ajax custodian Andre Onana, who has played an instrumental role in resurrecting the Dutch side’s pride on the European stage.
The Cameroonian international was enrolled in La Masia back in 2010 before moving to the Netherlands in 2014.
Onana has a market value of €36 million and is counted amongst one of the best in his trade at the moment.
The 24-year-old shot-stopper has already appeared for Ajax on 178 occasions, keeping 74 clean sheets in the process.
#6 Ansu Fati (Barcelona, €36m)
Ansu Fati made the headlines a few months back after becoming the youngest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history at the age of 17 years and 40 days, following his match-winner against Inter Milan in December.
The Barcelona left-winger has also been nominated for the Golden Boy 2020 award for his impressive displays for the Catalan giants.
The young and exciting prodigy, who has all the ingredients to become a Barcelona star, has a market value of €36 million.
#5 Sergi Roberto (Barcelona, €40m)
Sergi Roberto came through the youth ranks of Barcelona as a promising box-to-box midfielder before former manager Luis Enrique turned him into a full-bak in 2015-16 season.
The La Masia graduate played in seven different roles under Enrique and was known for his versatility.
Given Barcelona’s struggles to find a proper right-back since Dani Alves’s departure, Roberto, who has a market value of €40 million, seems like the Catalan giants’ best bet as the Brazilian’s successor.
#4 Jordi Alba (Barcelona, €40m)
The 31-year-old Barcelona left-back occupies the fourth spot on the list with a current market value of €40 million.
Jordi Alba started as a left-winger in the youth ranks of the Catalan giants before moving to Valencia in 2005.
However, under Unai Emery’s management at Valencia, Alba changed his game to become a left-back and earned himself a call-up from the Spanish national side.
Barcelona brought Alba back to the Camp Nou in 2012 to replace club legend Eric Abidal, and since then, the Spaniard has mastered the art of playing in a modern-day full-back role.
#3 Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich, €48m)
Considered as one of the best ball-playing midfielders at this moment, Thiago Alcantara is also a La Masia graduate, who moved to Bayern Munich in 2013, following Pep Guardiola’s path, after appearing in more than 100 games for Barcelona.
Thiago has often been compared to another La Masia graduate, Xavi Hernandez due to his technical ability and dominant displays in the middle of the park.
The 29-year-old versatile midfielder currently has a market value of €48 million, and Barcelona seemed to have made a mistake by letting one of their superstars join a European rival.
#2 Mauro Icardi (Paris Saint-Germain €60m)
Lionel Messi’s Argentine compatriot, Mauro Icardi occupies the second spot on the list with a current market value of €60 million. The Paris Saint-Germain striker learned his basics at La Masia after arriving in Catalonia in the 2008-09 season.
After spending only two seasons at the famous youth academy, Icardi made his move to Italy and joined Sampdoria on loan in 2011.
However, Icardi’s career truly blossomed when he moved to Inter Milan in 2013, with the Argentine netting 124 goals for the Serie A giants. He joined PSG last summer before the Ligue 1 champions made his move permanent in May 2020.
#1 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, €112m)
Who else other than Barcelona’s blue-eyed boy for the top spot?
Since making his debut for the Catalan giants in 2003, Lionel Messi has been the mainstay in the La Liga giants’ attack.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has already managed to score over 625 goals for the club, winning a total of 34 trophies in the process.
The left-footed phenomenon has singlehandedly changed the history of Barcelona with his magical displays on the field.
Messi is currently worth €112 million in the transfer market, and despite being on the wrong side of 30, the Argentine is arguably the best player on the planet.
Players’ value courtesy: Transfermarkt.co.uk