5 Talking Points from Barcelona's January transfer window | La Liga 2019-2020 

#4 La Masia no longer the go-to for first team talent

Perez has been loaned out to AS Roma

The latter part of the noughties and start of the last decade were dominated by Barcelona and the core of the team was built around academy players who had risen through the ranks to become mainstays in the first team.

Players like Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Victor Valdez, and the majestic Lionel Messi played no small role in Barcelona's success and La Masia's crowning glory came when they became the first academy to produce all three Ballon d'Or finalists in 2010.

This unprecedented success placed immense pressure on the youngsters coming through and the Barcelona academy was suddenly thrust into the limelight as a development hub that could do no wrong in the grooming of players.

However, that has proved to not be the case and the bottomline is that La Masia were blessed to have so many generational talents blossom in and around the same time and this is evident in the fact that Sergi Roberto is the only player from the academy to have gained a foothold in the first team in the last decade.

The cut-throat nature of the current era means that the pressure for instant success is immense, while the standards set by Messi and company have been near impossible for their proteges to follow.

Barcelona sanctioned four departures in the January transfer window and tellingly, three of those are players who have come through the ranks at La Masia, with Carles Perez, Moussa Wague, and Carles Alena joining AS Roma, OGC Nice, and Real Betis on loan respectively, while another youngster in Jean-Claire Todibo was also loaned out to Schalke 04.

Much has been made about Barcelona placing emphasis on the blooding of players from La Masia to the first-team but on evidence of their latest window, this is no longer a priority.