Xavi Espart: The Latest Expression of La Masia
04.09.26, 14:06 Updated 04.09.26, 14:06
Neal Gardner
Against Rayo Vallecano last week, Barcelona started four 19-year-olds. Not merely four teenagers, but four players born in 2007, all developed within the same academy: Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Marc Bernal and Xavi Espart. For almost any other club in world football, fielding that collection of homegrown talent at the same time would be treated as a generational occurrence. At Barcelona, remarkably, it increasingly feels like an expectation. At some point, an anomaly repeated often enough begins to feel normal. Perhaps there is no better way to describe La Masia.
That is perhaps the greatest compliment one can pay La Masia. Its production line has become such an anomaly that we have almost grown accustomed to a new gem emerging every season. First comes the unfamiliar name on a squad list. Then the promising cameo. Before long, they are starting games and looking as though they have been there for years.
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Neal Gardner