Barcelona‘s La Masia has produced countless brilliant players over the years, from Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets back in the day to the likes of Lamine Yamal and Gavi today.
But not every talented academy prospect can make it at Barcelona or play at the top level elsewhere. A number of their academy graduates have dropped off the radar, representing lesser-known clubs.
Here are seven Barcelona academy graduates playing their football in some of the more obscure leagues around the world.
Cristian Tello
You might remember Tello emerging as a talented squad player in Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering reign in the early 2010s.
The winger scored 20 goals in 86 matches for his boyhood club and went on to enjoy a respectable career at a decent level, representing the likes of Porto, Fiorentina and Real Betis.
Tello’s twilight years have seen him turn out in Major League Soccer for LAFC and in the Saudi Pro League for Al-Fateh, and – currently – newly-promoted Al-Orobah, where he shares an eclectic dressing room with Kurt Zouma, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and one-time Barca transfer target Jean Michael Seri.
Konrad de la Fuente
A few years back, we fully bought into the Konrad hype.
There was a lot of hope that the Florida-born La Masia winger could develop into an important player for both Barcelona and the United States, but he hasn’t quite reached the heights anticipated.
De la Fuente made his senior international debut back in 2020, but he only made a couple of further appearances while he never broke into first-team contention at Barca and moved to Marseille in 2021 in search of more regular opportunities.
But gametime was also limited at the Stade Velodrome and loans away to Olympiacos and Eibar failed to kickstart his career. Last summer he moved to Swiss Super League club Lausanne-Sport, but the vast majority of his appearances this season have been via the bench.
He’s notched one assist and no goals in 19 appearances in the Swiss top flight so far this season.
Sergi Samper
Some that watched Barcelona’s youth teams in the early 2010s swore that Samper was the successor to Sergio Busquets.
That never quite happened. Samper made just one La Liga appearance for his hometown club and never really kicked on in loans away to Granada and Las Palmas.
He left Barcelona in 2019 and spent four years alongside his old pal Andres Iniesta at Japanese side Vissel Kobe. Then he returned to Europe to sign for Gerard Pique-owned FC Andorra.
Last summer he joined newly-promoted Polish outfit Motor Lublin, who are punching above their weight in the top half of the Ekstraklasa table.
Marc Muniesa
Another regular at Barca B that never made it beyond the fringes of the senior set-up, Muniesa has had quite the career.
After four years in the Premier League with Stoke City, the defender returned to Catalonia to sign for Girona during their early years 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, we wouldn’t judge you for getting him mixed up with Muniesa. Happens to the best of us.
Montoya played a bit more of a role in the first-team picture at Barcelona, going on to represent Valencia, Brighton and Real Betis following his departure from the Camp Nou in 2016.
The 33-year-old right-back is now into his second season with Greek Super League outfit – where he shares a dressing room with fellow La Masia graduate Monchu, former Madrid starlet Juankar (no giggling in the back) and Football Manager cult hero Pione Sisto.
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Jon Toral
The midfielder came up in Barca’s youth ranks alongside Samper, whom he played alongside for eight years at various levels.
But he jumped ship earlier, following in the footsteps of Cesc Fabregas to continue his development under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Unfortunately he never quite made it for the Gunners and signed for Hull City after a series of loans away.
After three years out in Greece with OFI, last summer Toral signed for Indian Super League side Mumbai City – a club majority owned by the City 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 never made it at Anfield and has spent the bulk of his career back in Spain, having represented a host of clubs – Rayo Vallecano, Huesca, Alcorcon, Real Betis, Alaves, Getafe, Malaga and Logrones.
He’s spent the last few years out in Poland, and last summer he departed Gornik Zabrze for second-tier Wisla Plock. Not quite the career many envisaged when he was talked up as the next big thing at Liverpool.
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