Khaberni - Over the past three decades, Barcelona has faced several shocks related to the departure of many of its talents from "La Masia" academy graduates from the club by their personal decision.
Although most of the talents of this academy strive to achieve success with Barcelona, some of them chose to leave for various reasons, most notably receiving attractive offers or looking for an opportunity to play with another club.
At 18 years old, Drew Fernandez is the latest case among the graduates of Barcelona who will leave without the club's desire, as his request to leave caused a great shock to the management and coach Hansi Flick according to the Spanish newspaper "Sport".
The most prominent La Masia talents that left Barcelona
The newspaper highlighted 11 players who they described as "the main lineup of known Barcelona graduates" who decided to leave the club on their own, noting that 4 of them returned to the team later, two of them currently listed under Flick.
The following are the most prominent La Masia talents who decided to leave Barcelona without the club's approval in recent decades:
André Onana
Cameroonian goalkeeper André Onana arrived at "La Masia" in 2010 from the Eto'o Foundation, and after 5 years, he decided on his own accord to move to Ajax Amsterdam, for sporting reasons, knowing that he would not get a real playing chance given the brilliance of the German Marc-André ter Stegen.
Besides Ajax, Onana has played for several major clubs including Inter Milan and Manchester United, and is currently defending the goal of Trabzonspor in Turkey.
Héctor Bellerín
Héctor Bellerín was one of the prominent wingers in "La Masia", and in 2011, he decided to accept an attractive offer from Arsenal, where he transitioned from a winger to a modern full-back.
Bellerín had a successful experience with Arsenal, and then returned to Barcelona in the summer of 2022, a less successful period that lasted only 6 months before he moved to Sporting Lisbon.
Gerard Piqué
Despite being heavily relied upon by the young Barcelona team, Gerard Piqué decided to leave in 2004, initially close to moving to Arsenal before finally settling with Manchester United, with whom he won the Champions League.
After 4 years, Piqué returned to Barcelona and defended the team's colors until his retirement in December 2022, having achieved many titles with the Catalan team.
Eric Garcia
Eric Garcia spent 6 seasons in La Masia, and facing neglect from the officials, he preferred in 2017 to accept an offer from Manchester City, and as a Barcelona fan, the player decided to return to the team in 2021 on a free transfer as soon as his contract with City ended.
Sergio Gomez
Sergio Gomez was one of the standout talents of the academy, arriving from Espanyol, and after reaching the youth team, he accepted a significant offer from Borussia Dortmund in 2018.
He did not achieve the expected success with the German team, so he went through several other experiences with Huesca, Anderlecht, and Manchester City.
Xavi Simons
The departure of Xavi Simons was one of the most media-attracting cases considering he was one of the most prominent talents in recent years, moving to Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.
Simons did not deliver the expected performance, so he went out on loan spells to PSV Eindhoven and Leipzig before moving permanently from "PSG" to Tottenham Hotspur last summer.
Gerard López
Gerard López was the first player to decide for himself to leave "La Masia" in 1997, then Valencia paid his buyout clause, and after 3 years, he returned to the Catalan team in a stint that lasted 5 years before he left for free to Monaco in France.
Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas was the first player to follow in his predecessor López's footsteps, seeing a bleak future with Barcelona, hedecided to move to Arsenal in 2003 after the sporting and financial offer presented by the experienced French coach Arsène Wenger.
Fàbregas achieved great success with "the Gunners" and was the team's captain, but he returned to Barcelona in 2011 at the request of Pep Guardiola, and in 2014 moved back to the English league through Chelsea.
Ilaix Moriba
Ilaix Moriba is one of the strangest cases that passed through Barcelona, as the club offered him a huge deal from a young age and he played with the first team under the Dutch coach Ronald Koeman, but he left in 2021 due to the financial interests of his agents and joined Leipzig, and his experience in the German league was unsuccessful and now he plays for Celta Vigo.
Dani Olmo
Dani Olmo chose an unusual path as he moved to Croatia after six seasons in the youth teams to continue his development with Dinamo Zagreb in 2014.
Away from the spotlight, he proved his great talent and later (2020) moved to Leipzig becoming a star of the team, and returned to Barcelona in the summer of 2024 in his best technical condition.
Marc Guiu
The departure of Marc Guiu was one of the most surprising cases as Xavi had bet on him in the youth team, but his scoring explosion attracted the attention of Chelsea, which paid his buyout clause in 2024.
Guiu realized that his chances would be limited with the presence of Robert Lewandowski and Vítor Roque and Ferran Torres, and he is now looking for an opportunity for himself at star-studded Chelsea.
