Lamine Yamal. Nobody expected him. Nobody expected the rise of this young superstar, to becoming a top three player in the world before his 18th birthday, not even the believers who knew about him since his Masia days. However, those of us who are alert, are spending the football offseason not pondering about how the young Spaniard will do next year, or if he’s done enough to win the Ballon D’Or come October, they’re looking for the next one. While there are many great young players from other clubs, like Chelsea’s Ibrahim Rabbaj, Chelsea’s 15-year old already playing with the 18 year olds, today I focus on specifically La Masia talents. I’ve used my vast scouting network to find a whole five Barcelona talents who may have a meteoric Lamine Yamal-style rise. And no, we’re not talking about the easy ones, like Guille or Toni Fernandez, who’ve already had first team experience and who I expect to finally get minutes next season, no. We’re looking at the ones you likely haven’t heard about yet. The real hidden gems. Let’s get started.
Ruslan Mba
We start in order of oldest to youngest, starting with 2010-born Ruslan Mba. The 15-year old made his name in the Porsche Fussball Cup in Germany in 2024, winning it as the team’s top scorer, and a hat trick in an 8-1 victory against Bayern Munich. Despite being left footed, Mba likes playing on both wings, and can play in the middle as well. Mba nearly picked Barca’s catalan rivals Espanyol when making a decision on who to join as a young kid, their main competition over Real Madrid when it comes to this age group, but youth coach Albert Puig Alcaide convinced Mba and his family that Barca was right. Mba’s dribbling is electric, and he doesn’t give up on moves that seem done. Unlike Yamal, Mba is also lightning-quick down the flank, something Barca could use. He’ll be eligible for his first-team debut sometime in 2026.
Adam Qaroual
Next, we have a player who’s been compared to Xavi Simons in Barca’s academy, due to his flashy hair, Dutch roots, and flashy play style. The 2012 Monchengladbach-born AM-RW is definitely the most eye-catching player in La Masia right now, with incredible control of skill moves to get around players even at his young age. Qaroual is eligible for a massive four national teams, mainly Morocco and Germany but also for the Netherlands and Spain, due to PSV and Barca. Qaroual is part of a 2012 class that’s looking like it may match the heights of the 2007 class, with Qaroual sharing a side with other promising talents such as David Moreno and Moha Akhomach, brother of former La Masia grad Ilias Akhomach. Both of them could have made this list, but Qaroual and our next name make it instead. Qaroual is an incredibly exciting talent, and very well may find his way into the Barca senior setup before long.
Fode Diallo
Another member of the incredible 2012 class, Diallo is a straight-up weapon, who’s scored nearly 100 times in 30 matches with his side. He broke the record for his age category, his 96 goals pummeling Take Kubo’s 73, who previously held the record. Yamal had scored ‘just’ 68 in 29 matches when he was in that age group. He has some speed, but uses great understanding of the game and clinical finishing to become a goal machine. In La Masia, he’s being called the “new Eto’o”, and the comparisons are there. The 2012 class in La Masia will be special, eligible to make their debuts in 2028.
Pedrito Juarez
Out of the youngsters we’re covering today, Pedrito is my favourite to have the best career at Barca. At just 10 years old last year, he was named as the player in La Masia with the highest footballing IQ. He joined La Masia just a few years ago, after moving from the USA, who are battling with Spain and his native Argentina to secure him for the future. It’s no surprise why they’re fighting so hard. All it takes is one look at this kid’s highlights to see why he’s special. He’s already mastered dribbling, and is a football genius. When watching the kid play, it’s incredibly hard to remember that he’s just 11 years old in the 2014 class. I cannot wait to see this kid break through the ranks.
Destiny Kosiso
Finally, our youngest player, Destiny Kosiso, who, despite being a year younger than Pedrito, and Pedrito already being in age groups higher than his own, is in the same academy team as the prodigy. And it’s not like he’s struggling either – He’s scored nearly 90 times in just 22 matches. He has incredible pace, and has been compared to being La Masia’s version of Kylian Mbappe. However, it’ll be a while yet until he makes his debut, eligible in 2031.
Those are 5 players in La Masia, who are incredibly promising, and may just have Lamine Yamal-esque breakthroughs. That is, if Barca remember their roots in what looks to be another successful period coming for the club under Hansi Flick. In the 2010s, many promising players came through the academy, but never got chances. Barcelona need to prioritize keeping the young talent flowing, as if they keep producing successful players, they won’t have another trough like they did from 2020 to 2024. These players are still early in their football journeys, let us not forget, and they still have much development to do to reach the promised land, but if there’s anyone in La Masia right now who can do it, it’s these five. I’m Jim James, until next time.