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Almost every top-level club in the world has a functional academy whose role it is to nurture young players into world beaters capable of breaking into the first team and helping the club challenge for honours.
Now while this might be applicable to a lot of clubs out there, few if any have an academy quite as functional as that obtainable at Barcelona.
Founded in 1979 (off an idea proposed by the legendary Johan Cruyff to then Barcelona president Nunez), La Masia was modelled after the Ajax academy, and since inception has nurtured over 400 players, most of whom have gone on to achieve varying degrees of success.
The academy has played a major role in Barcelona's success of recent, with particular emphasis laid on the class of '87 which included Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, Pedro, Cesc Fabregas - all of whom played a part in the club's dominance alongside other La Masia products like Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Victor Valdez among others. .
In 2010, it made history as the first academy to produce the three finalists for the Ballon d'Or when Xavi, Messi, and Iniesta mounted the podium.
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The sheer quality of players churned out by the academy coupled with the world-class players already in the first team means that it is always going to be a herculean task to break into the senior side from the academy, which leads many youngsters to move on from the club in search of regular playing time.
La Masia is famed for breeding players with good technical abilities, and such players most times go on to achieve success either at Barcelona or elsewhere.
Numerous examples abound of players who have left Barcelona and gone on to play their way into folklore at other clubs, with the Blaugrana most times seeking to re-sign them at one point or the other.
While there have been some cases of re-signed La Masia players going on to be successes such as Gerad Pique and Jordi Alba, others did not quite go according to plan, as was the case with Cesc Fabregas and Gerad Deleofeu.
The increased success of La Masia players over the last decade has increased their value, as clubs now seek to poach them from the Catalans at an even faster rate than before and their performances have been good enough to capture Barcelona's interest.
In this piece, we shall be taking a look at four former La Masia players who Barcelona are interested in re-signing.
#4 Dani Olmo (Dinamo Zagreb)
Dani Olmo is a talented winger who currently plays for Dinamo Zagreb, and his displays for the Croatian club have been so impressive that he was named the player of the season in the Croatian league in 2018.
The 20-year-old had earlier turned out for Barcelona's youth teams between 2009 and 2014 having joined from crosstown rivals Espanyol before he shockingly decided to move out east to Zagreb.
Reports have emanated that Barcelona is interested in bringing Olmo back to the Nou Camp, although they would face competition from archrivals Real Madrid.
#3 Andre Onana (Ajax)
It's not very often that goalkeepers grab the headlines - owing to the fact that they rarely get the attention their performances require, but that is exactly what a 22-year-old is doing between the sticks at Ajax.
The Cameroonian international has been winning admirers from all over Europe with his displays between the sticks in the Netherlands.
Having joined the Barcelona youth team in 2010, Onana left for Ajax five years later, first turning out for the junior sides before making his first-team debut in 2016, and since then he has not looked back.
Onana made 32 league appearances in the 2016-17 season and followed that up with 33 last term. So far this season, Onana has kept the goal in 20 of Ajax's 21 Eredivisie matches, while also starring in the UCL to help the Dutch giants make it to the knockout rounds for the first time since 1995.
His form has seen him draw considerable attention from most of Europe's leading sides, with Barcelona also said to be interested in bringing him back next season if backup goalie Jasper Cillensen decides to depart, to which Onana said would be a dream come true.
#2 Alex Grimaldo (Benfica)
Alex Grimaldo was on the books of the Barcelona youth team from 2011 - 2015 and was seen as one of the brightest prospects in La Masia and a possible long-term successor to Jordi Alba as the occupier of the Barcelona left-back spot.
Hence there was genuine outrage from fans of the Blaugrana when he departed the club in 2016, especially seeing as Barca went on to sign French left-back Lucas Digne from PSG.
Digne was clearly not cut out for Barcelona from the get-go and was a shocking decision, to say the least, justified by the fact that he left for Everton barely two years later having made a minimal impact at the Nou Camp.
As though to make up for their error in judgement, Barcelona has been said to be among those monitoring Alex Grimaldo's progress in the Portuguese league, and it would not be too surprising to see him make a return to the Nou Camp in the nearest future.
#1 Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich)
La Masia and in turn Barcelona is famed for producing highly technical midfielders who are magicians with the ball at their feet, possessing an uncanny ability to dictate the tempo of matches effortlessly and spot passes no one else can see.
Only a few players anywhere can claim to embody these traits as much as Thiago Alcantara, with the Spanish international being the quintessential definition of a Barcelona midfielder and having the 'Barca DNA' in his veins.
It says a lot about his abilities that when Pep was arriving Bayern Munich in 2013, he explicitly told the Germans to make Alcantara a priority signing.
Since then, the 26-year-old has gone on to cement his reputation as one of the best midfielders in the world, proving an integral part of both club and country.
It is no hidden secret that Ernesto Valverde is a big fan of Alcantara, having stated in the past that he considered him an ideal signing, while the dressing room also gave their approval for the transfer.
Alcantara re-signing for Barcelona would really be a return home for him, and on account of his statements in recent times, the reunion could be closer than ever.
