5 La Masia graduates who are at the heart of Barcelona's rebuild

FC Barcelona, an iconic club that once dominated world football with the way they played and the talent at their disposal, are now in transition. Crippling debt incurred due to uncontrolled spending has dragged the the club down in the past few years. Big money moves for players like Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann didn't work out and the club is now left rebuilding. When facing adversity we tend to look outside for help, but often the solution lies within. And Barcelona seem to once again have found answers to their recent miseries within their academy, La Masia.Barcelona have made three major managerial changes in under two years. The club has a debt of over €1 billion and financial constraints meant they had to let Leo Messi go. They fought with La Liga over a salary cap, they were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages and had to enter the Europa League for the first time in 17 years. Amidst the downward spiral, the youngsters from La Masia have been the Blaugrana's silver lining this season.The academy that produced icons like Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola, and countless other legends, La Masia has yet again proven to be at the base of what seems to be a rebuilding phase at the club.Sport360°@Sport360Barcelona's La Masia made history and locked out the Ballon d'Or's top 3 #OTD in 2011 🥇 Messi🥈 Iniesta🥉 XaviFootball's greatest academy 2:30 AM · Jan 10, 202250351Barcelona's La Masia made history and locked out the Ballon d'Or's top 3 #OTD in 2011 😲 🥇 Messi🥈 Iniesta🥉 XaviFootball's greatest academy 🏫💯 https://t.co/XSiPDbD9mtThe team is still far from what it has to achieve in terms of quality and goals, but with Xavi at the helm and some talented young players at his disposal, there is still hope the club can turn this season around.Nevertheless, these are the top five young academy graduates making a difference in the first team this season.#5 Eric GarciaEric Garcia in action for Barcelona.&quot;I would love to have 15 Eric Garcias for the way he conducts his behavior. He is always thinking of the team. He's always a good face in good or bad moments,&quot; were the words Pep Guardiola chose to describe the Spanish international when he moved to the Catalonian giants in 2021.Since then, the 21-year-old centre-back has started half the games for Spain at Euro 2020, won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 while being a regular starter, and has made his Barcelona debut.After pursuing Garcia for quite a few months, Barca finally landed his services during the summer transfer window of 2021, when he arrived from Manchester City alongside Sergio Aguero.FC Barcelona@FCBarcelonaHome is where the heart is.12:31 PM · Jun 1, 2021411396010Home is where the heart is. https://t.co/FQRV2L4n4RHe was at La Masia for nine years before leaving for Manchester City's youth academy in 2017. A year later, Garcia quickly became a first-team centre-back in Guardiola's side. After making 35 appearances in three seasons for City, the Spaniard rejected an extension and let his contract expire before returning to Barcelona on a free transfer.FC Barcelona@FCBarcelona🎙 The first words of @ericgm3!#EricCuler 3:01 PM · Jun 1, 20219201608🎙 The first words of @ericgm3!#EricCuler 💙❤️ https://t.co/G5aCmDbMVLBlessed with an impeccable passing range, the ability to build from the back and excellent leadership skills, Garcia is a Blaugrana through and through. With current first-choice defender Gerard Pique (also a La Masia graduate) turning 35, Garcia certainly looks set to step up and take on the role from him in the coming years. He has already made 20 appearances across competitions for the Blaugrana this season.#4 Nico GonzalezNico Gonzalez in action for Barca.After impressing Koeman during pre-season, Gonzalez seems to have turned a lot of heads and is tipped to take over the pivotal midfield role from Sergio Busquets. Having played multiple positions, even on the right-wing at times, Nico has shown immense potential to grow and be a part of the midfield for years to come.Former Barcelona B manager Garcia Pimienta has gone on record to say that Gonzales could become a Barca great. &quot;Nico is a player who can mark an era. If everything goes to plan, he is going to be the heir to Busquets,&quot; he had said.Having just turned 20 last month, Gonzalez joined La Masia at the tender age of 11. Akin to the rest of his academy counterparts, he possesses terrific passing skills accompanied by a brilliant sense of positioning. His ability to carry the ball and dribble past with his pace is what sets him apart from the rest.Whilst Busquets has been the first choice pivot for Koeman and Xavi, Gonzalez has occupied the role of a traditional box-to-box midfielder and has had an immediate impact in the games he's been a part of. He's already made 26 appearances for Barca in all competitions this season.FC Barcelona@FCBarcelonaNico, how does it feel to score at Camp Nou? #BarçaElche01:51 AM · Dec 19, 20212997158Nico, how does it feel to score at Camp Nou? #BarçaElche https://t.co/yg15ITYgFE

5 La Masia graduates who are at the heart of Barcelona's rebuild

#3 Gavi

#2 Ronald Araujo