Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the youth academy of FC Barcelona remains the most prestigious in world football. The Catalan giants may not always find success on the field due to other issues, but the quality of their youngsters remains constant. Even now, in the midst of financial ruin, Barcelona can rely on their homegrown products.
The likes of Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Alejandro Balde, Pau Cubarsi, Hector Fort, Fermin Lopez, and many others have come to aid Barcelona. In fact, while the key first-team players are preoccupied with the international break, new Barcelona coach Hansi Flick will be looking to once again call upon the quarry’s youth to help him during pre-season.
However, over in the European Championship, the graduates of La Masia are taking the continent by storm. As highlighted by SPORT, all three leaders in assists when it comes to the Euros in Germany happen to be the graduates of La Masia, the coveted youth academy of FC Barcelona.
One of those three players still plays for the club, and that is Lamine Yamal. The extraordinary 16-year-old winger for Barcelona and Spain is currently the leader in providing assists in the competition so far. With three assists to his name, Yamal has had quite an impressive debut in his first official international tournament.
However, he is not the only La Masia representative on the podium. The very next positions in line are also currently held by the graduates of the Barcelona academy. Dani Olmo, the hero for Spain in the last game and one of the targets for Barcelona this summer, also has two assists to his name.
His last assist came towards Mikel Merino, the man who ended up scoring Spain’s winning goal against Germany. This duo has been heavily linked to Barcelona in recent weeks, and seeing them perform the way they did will certainly give the Catalan club something to think about.
Another player who also has two assists to his name is Xavi Simmons. Once among the most talented prodigies in the Barcelona academy, Simmons has since embarked on his own journey to other clubs. Now a key player for the Netherlands National team, the former Barcelona gem has also provided two assists in the competition.
There are other players who are also on two assists each, including the likes of Dennis Man (Romania), Nathan Ake (Netherlands), Remu Freuler (Switzerland), Michel Aebischer (Switzerland), Joshua Kimmich (Germany), Fabian Ruiz (Spain), Juraj Kucka (Czech Republic), Alexander Prass (Austria), and Ante Budimir (Croatia). Barcelona star Pedri also had an assist to his name, but he will be unable to add more due to his recent injury.