Barcelona’s legendary center-back Gerard Pique has been quite active in the media recently. In this video, he makes a controversial statement regarding Barcelona’s youngsters and their being given game time.
So basically, Pique clearly stated that the youngsters in the Barcelona squad are being played due to necessity rather than having pure confidence in them. I am completely against his statement, here is why.
La Masia’s Legacy
Barcelona is one of the most known clubs for trusting their youth, not because they are forced to, but because La Masia’s time investment in player’s development is second to none. Barcelona has been blessed with consistently performing top-tier footballers.
The same argument of lack of trust can be made against Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, and even Piqué when they were given chances. They were given chances out of pure merit. They proved themselves and became legends.
Today’s youngsters Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Pau Cubarsí, Fermín López, and Alejandro Balde are following the same path. They are not playing out of necessity, they have performed and got the deserved starting place. We have seen the players from La Masia who were promising but didn’t do well are not at the club anymore.
Many of these youngsters have outperformed veterans to gain their place in the starting XI. A clear example is Pau Cubarsí, he is so mature for his age and has already benched Barcelona’s captain Ronald Araujo.
Závěr
Pique’s words are understandable, given the club’s financial struggles and injury problems. But demeaning the youngsters and saying they play out of necessity is unfair.
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