Yamal (right) is a symbol of Barca's rebirth - Photo: REUTERS
In the early hours of May 16th (Vietnam time), Barca defeated Espanyol 2-0, securing the La Liga title two rounds early. This championship promises to usher in a glorious era for the Camp Nou team, similar to the 2008-2015 period of Messi's generation.
True dominance in top-level football isn't determined by just one or two trophies. This is especially true in La Liga, where the title race generally revolves around three teams: Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid. Two years ago, Barcelona won La Liga because Real Madrid lost focus. But right now, it feels like Real Madrid has been pushed into a chasing position against Barcelona.
Four years ago, Barca plunged into a financial crisis with debts exceeding 1 billion euros. They were forced to sell Messi to free up some of their wage bill, followed by a "sell whatever you can" policy.
For three years, Barca became a laughingstock worldwide when they had to rent out their home stadium for wedding receptions and even sell the turf. At the same time, they continuously sold image rights to fund their football operations.
From a professional standpoint, Barca could only approach stars whose contracts were expiring, using their reputation to persuade them. The result was a series of makeshift deals. Barca successively brought in Depay, Kessie, Christensen, Bellerin, Alonso, Gundogan, Cancelo – players whose suitability for the team was not a concern for the management, as long as they were free. A small group of them relatively met expectations, such as Christensen and Depay.
But for a powerful team like Barca, after a period of extreme decline, there is often a period of great prosperity. Indeed, the emergence of the prodigy Yamal symbolized the resurgence of the La Masia academy. And Barca was revived once again.
A total of 17 players who came through the La Masia academy have made appearances for Barca's first team this season – a real record. Many of them even started the season in the reserve team, such as Hector Fort and Gerard Martin.
But then they rose spectacularly to become pillars of the team. This number 17 doesn't even include Pedri, who joined Barca at the age of 17 (still counted as being from the club's youth academy).
Except for Olmo, who is 27 years old, all the other academy players are 23 or younger. Their transfer value is therefore extremely high. If Barcelona were facing financial difficulties, they could easily recoup hundreds of millions of euros by selling just one of these young stars.
But perhaps this isn't necessary, as the club's management has already succeeded in reducing the debt to below half a billion euros.
All these symbols point to one truth: the great Barca has been reborn, and the future is in their hands.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuong-lai-rong-mo-voi-barca-20250517101940941.htm
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