FC Barcelona’s famed La Masia is the apple of every football club’s eye. Year after year, the Blaugrana’s academy pumps out a conveyor belt of young talent. In fact, one only needs to look at the sheer number of youngsters in Hansi Flick’s first team this season for proof of that.
No fewer than 12 of Barcelona’s first team squad came through La Masia, an unheard-of level of production for any team on the planet. The headline stars are, of course, the likes of Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Fermin and Pau Cubarsi, all of whom played a crucial role in leading the Catalonians to a famous domestic treble last term. This year, despite a somewhat slow start, betting providers still consider the Blaugrana as contenders.
The latest online betting odds currently make Barcelona a 5/4 second favorite to successfully defend their La Liga, narrowly behind a Kylian Mbappe-powered Real Madrid.
But not all of La Masia’s superstar products go on to become icons with their boyhood club. Some that aren’t considered up to the incredibly high Barca standard are shopped on for profit, but which of them has brought the most money to the Camp Nou? Let’s find out.
Pedro
Some players on this list didn’t cut the mustard at Barcelona. Winger Pedro isn’t one of them. The technical wizard was a key part of Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona B team of 2007/08, and when the iconic manager got the top job in Catalonia, he took Pedro through the ranks with him.
Pedro would only make six appearances in his debut campaign at the senior level, but in his sophomore year, he would oust the all-time great Thierry Henry from the first team squad. Guardiola preferred the young prodigy to the legendary Frenchman, and he would be rewarded for his faith with 12 goals in 34 games as Barcelona won La Liga for the second straight year.
In 2010/11, Pedro would have one of his finest ever campaigns, netting 22 goals in all competitions, including the opener in the UEFA Champions League final victory against Manchester United, helping his side to a league and UCL double.
Following the arrivals of Neymar and Luis Suarez, Pedro was pushed down the pecking order by Luis Enrique, and after another treble in 2014/15, the Spaniard was on his way. English giants Chelsea stumped up €26.6m to secure his services, with the La Masia product leading the Blues to the Premier League title in his debut season. The fee received remains the biggest for a Barcelona academy star, while Pedro still plays at a high level today, regularly featuring for Lazio in Serie A.
Thiago Alcântara
Thiago Alcântara may well be the best La Masia product to never truly nail down a spot in the Barcelona first team. The metronomic midfielder came through the ranks with the aforementioned Pedro, but his progression to the first team wasn’t as instant. Instead, the Italian-born star had to bide his time, making just 14 bit-part appearances by 2011 with the starting midfield positions locked down by Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, and Sergio Busquets.
More chances would come between 2011 and 2013, with Thiago making 81 appearances during that time frame. However, the departure of Pep Guardiola in the summer of 2012 saw opportunities harder to come by. In the summer of 2013, Pep took over at Bayern Munich, and the first signing he made when taking over in Bavaria was bringing on the central midfield prodigy for €20m, the biggest ever fee for a La Masia player at the time.
Thiago would develop into arguably the finest deep-lying playmaker on the planet at the Allianz Arena, winning all there was to win, including a 2020 UEFA Champions League crown, defeating Barcelona in the semifinals. He would then move on to Liverpool and maintain his impeccably high standards.
By 2022, however, injuries would begin to take their toll, and after just one appearance in the 2023/24 season, he was forced into retirement. Fast forward to now, and the 34-year-old is back at Barcelona, working as an assistant to manager Hansi Flick.
Nico González
Central midfielder Nico González is from a later generation. Barcelona turned to the young midfielder in their hour of need in the summer of 2021, with financial woes resulting in the iconic Lionel Messi leaving to Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer and a lack of funds prohibiting the Blaugrana from bringing in replacements. Instead, they turned to La Masia, but while the likes of Pedri and Gavi would secure starting berths, Nico’s opportunities were fewer and farther between.
26 appearances in a highly impressive loan spell with Valencia in 2022/23 caught the eye of Portuguese giants FC Porto, and they duly sanctioned an €8.5m move for the playmaker. Across two years in Portugal, Nico racked up 68 appearances before joining Manchester City in January, now teaming up with former Barcelona boss Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium.
