A lot of stories that involve FC Barcelona and specific players can be labeled as fairytales. Given how prestigious the club is, it is often the dream of many players to one day wear the Catalan club’s colors. Unfortunately, not every promising player gets to live that particular dream of representing Barcelona at some point.
However, for others, it is a dream that only they can claim to have fulfilled over those who could not make it. For almost every La Masia talent, for instance, representing the Barcelona first team is a goal that they must have no matter what if they hope to succeed across the youth system.
While some very special players make it directly into the first team from the quarry, others have to take a different route to get there. One such example would be Dani Olmo, Barça’s summer acquisition from RB Leipzig, who is now playing at a great level and has established himself as a key player for Hansi Flick’s Barcelona.
For his agent, Andy Bara, the peculiar journey of Dani Olmo was perhaps just as rewarding. As highlighted by SPORT, the Croatian agent even confirmed that it was his decision to convince the player’s parents to let him transfer from La Masia to Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, a move that most people could not make sense out of.
For Bara, however, it was crucial for the player’s development and his parents were only in agreement because they trusted him:
“They trusted me and accepted the path I proposed to them. Thanks to my contacts at Dinamo, I knew we would do well and, in a certain sense, I could control the situation. That Dani could develop as a footballer and would have the opportunity to play. And everything worked out well. First at Dinamo, then at RB Leipzig, and now at Barcelona and the Spanish national team. It’s working out very well.”
The Barcelona star’s agent even admitted to his return to the Catalan club being the most satisfying deal he has completed so far once he was asked to confirm that:
“Looking at it as a whole, given how atypical the journey was, yes (because it was a round-trip journey). Dinamo got him for free, and we made a lot of money with the later transfer to RB Leipzig for €35 million. Then, another big transfer, for over €50 million to Barcelona.”
Similarly, Bara also made sure to mention Mikayil Faye’s journey being one that gives him joy, with Faye being yet another promising talent connected to Barcelona at one point:
“There were less known transfers that brought me a lot of joy. Recently, I took Mikayil Faye from NK Kustosija Zagreb, a third-division Croatian club, to Barcelona. Then we transferred him to Rennes.”
Olmo, for now, remains in recovery following his injury but is expected to return quite soon. His quality has been missed in the team and it is expected that he will have a key role in Hansi Flick’s Barcelona once he manages to receive the medical green light, which could come against Sevilla.