10 WORST La Masia Graduates!

On this week’s show, we’re looking at the ten biggest disappointments to come out of Barcelona’s academy, La Masia. Famous for producing stars like Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, and Ansu Fati, as well as current coaches like Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta, the institution doesn’t have a flawless record. Widemen like Isaac Cuenca and Bojan Krkic broke through under Pep, but failed in subsequent moves to Ajax and Milan, while interest from Arsenal and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in youngsters like Martin Montoya and Sergi Samper was no guarantee of success either.
Along the way, we look at the defender who was rated above Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal, the winger who Arteta said was better than Iniesta, the midfielder who was touted as the next Cesc Fabregas, and a host of other flops. Let us know who we missed in the comments.
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[@EuroFootballDaily]

Which La Masia graduate were you left the most disappointed by?! (Doug)

[@jacekhansen2644]

im most disappointed by bojan or samper, they werent _bad_ ,they were and still are great players. they were just ruined by high expectations and injuries. too often does this type of thing happen and it deprives us of seeing these wonderful players fit and confident

[@swagatosarkar9664]

Dos Santos

[@maticticar798]

Brahim afellay and bojan. They were supposed to be masive.

[@Joe-xf5ot]

@@vsldrihaj apparently not click bait enough

[@shahidwillie967]

Samper

[@youngstars4144]

Change the title from „worst“ to „most disappointing“ or remove Bojan from the list

[@fudge.boss1874]

Yeah cause I don’t think Bojan had a bad career he was just overhyped

[@youngstars4144]

@@fudge.boss1874 yeah, no doubt. He was hugely unfortunate that his „predecessor“ (youngster breaking into first team at that age) was Messi😂 but unlike the others, he played very well and in his four years put up quite similar numbers to what Rashford did at United. Obviously, it also had to do with Henry declining and Pep not liking Zlatan, but towards the end of the 09/10 Bojan was part of the first XI and if his goal against Inter hadn‘t been (controversially) disallowed, I have no doubt he would have started the UCL final

[@imfc1330]

They do it for click bait they don’t Caire about good content

[@adampark..]

Facts. Bojan was by no way the worst, just swallowed by the hype

[@imfc1330]

@@adampark.. dude theses guys are so stupid, bojan not even with Montreal anymore and buttner too

[@CaptainCharisma2093]

I don’t see how bojan is a bad graduate. I just see him as not fulfilling his promise.

[@mehmetrauftahamiler3148]

exactly mate.

[@msmjsiajdgdhsjajahgshsjaje8990]

He defo had talent

[@pubgsniperlord7055]

That's exactly what the title meant...they were all good players but form dropped...they're decent but nt la masia level

[@jacekhansen2644]

i wouldnt call bojan a _terrible la masia product_ , he performed extremely well in the youth academy and when he was promoted to the first team. it was when he was performing well and getting compared to messi that he said he lost all confidence in himself and that impacted him on the pitch. the title implies that he was terrible from the start and flopped at every club, which obviously isnt the case, i think peps departure impacted his development and confidence negatively

[@miguelsoriano4846]

He also developed an ego thinking he was too good to play as a winger and wanted to play as a 9. Once his ego was hurt that’s when his depression came. This was all his fault though because he performed extremely well on the wing and contributed way better than the few chances he got as a striker.

[@blxndi2132]

The fact that its Samper's birthday🤣

[@qkomodo9098]

NO CHILL

[@pablocruz5744]

Frfr I noticed that too . Outta pocket from the creator 😂

[@sikanderk89]

@@pablocruz5744 g go gh g g Gf go vmy. N s said he had to to take him him and he had was to take in his room for his family to be a part time in a a month I and and own family family to in a

[@yesyes5515]

Name stealer xd

[@sirspaghetti4218]

Mine 2

[@shivangbhardwaj2849]

Sergi Samper had a career ending injury. Don't say he's flop

[@luiscoronel935]

Flop

[@omaryahya7258]

Samper was ruined by injuries. Harsh to include him here imo

[@Runningscared4ever]

And bad loans

[@fegismcclaren1632]

Montoya wasn’t that bad, he ended up being a decent player

[@adrielchavez4919]

I would’ve put Halilovic in

[@deron19]

@@adrielchavez4919 halilovic is not from the Barca academy

[@jellyboy1112]

Shut up

[@jaoulzn]

He is not bad but not good

[@josenone4697]

more like an AVERAGE player

[@AliChinFootball]

Cannot be the worst, they just didn't live up to the hype, they still all had a pro career

[@jesuslarez1290]

Bojan suffered of anxiety and panic attacks due to everyone having such high expectations of him and being called "The New Messi" and that affected him badly, he didn't go to the euro because he was injure, it was coz he could not handle the pressure and that was what ultimately killed his carrer so early, its very sad. The mental state of young players theses days have to be watched out very closely or they will just end up as him

[@viscaelbarca4354]

The best thing about pandemic and Financial crisis is that we are paying some attention to La Masia.We are forced to play La Masia players.

[@pepeyufera97]

Que estais asi por la gestion de mierda xd no por el covid

[@Timliu92]

Not a Barca fan, but I agree. This season might be an inconsistent one for Barca, but at least you all are experimenting with younger players from La Masia, and this transition is better late than never.

[@pepeyufera97]

@@Timliu92 except pedri is the same team than the year b4 , its not that transitional

[@chickenwings2312]

And you are losing wages to Messi

[@WillMiall]

May be harsh but I'd include Christian Tello on this list. Was linked to Liverpool, meant to be the next big thing and went on to be bang average

[@jesperjuhl2815]

There is something ABSOLUTELY absurd about a group of guys who have NO inside experience with the world of professionel football making a list of the "worst" footballers to graduate from a specific football academy. It's a complete and utter false premis to begin with. None of these players are the "worst" to ever graduate from La Masia. I'm pretty sure there are several hundred players that are way worse than the ten guys mentioned in this video to have graduated from Barcelonas academy. A more correct title for this video would be "Ten La Masia graduates who never lived up to their hype" or "Ten La Masia graduates that left us disappointed". This is just a sad all in all. Come on EFD!!! You're not even trying!!! You're better than this!

[@manny6793]

Could you stfu

[@Harisankar-ce2vd]

Yes, exactly... The whole premise of this video is absurd...😕

[@hannahbanana7629]

I sort of agree with you but you don't have to take it this seriously

[@shailovchauhan958]

The amount of talent La Masia possesses right now is immense and Pimienta with the B team is doing his best to be called underrated. Can’t wait for the lads to get an opportunity. Araujo, Mingueza, Fati, Puig have already shown that La Masia is far from dead.

[@angelalvarado3037]

Half of them didnt come up from barca but were brought from barca

[@ShivSai123456]

Only araujo was..

[@kenny-y7038]

@@ShivSai123456 Yeah he was a striker

[@user-jp3hc4ux4e]

@@angelalvarado3037 only araujo was bought lmao

[@shailovchauhan958]

@cogamers84 Moriba along with Comas, Balde, Orellana and of course Collado, who should be handed his well deser start from the first team.

[@mthokozisindlovu4566]

"LvG knew Babangida's ringtone, and would punish him when it went off in training's 😭😭😭😭😭😭🤣

[@DeeMan98MU]

you'd think he would just change it or turn on airplane mode 💀

[@xindonglin5815]

that depressing ngl that he got fucked for something as petty as a ring tone

[@12thMandalorian]

@@DeeMan98MU Airplane Mode didn’t exist back in them days

[@raphaelnasser7084]

@@xindonglin5815 don't think it was just 4 his ringtone

[@solar6346]

Anyone know what his actual ringtone was

[@andrewharris-smith517]

Keep doing this for all the big academies, so intresting to see where former career mode stars have ended up

[@swagatosarkar9664]

I can see Alena on this list in the next few years

[@Naz_kmt]

Bit harsh

[@swagatosarkar9664]

@@Naz_kmt i know it is but he is never going to get chance at barca

[@havishbalaga9397]

He got loaned bro . I am happy cuz he will get playing time

[@fudge.boss1874]

He is a good player m8 at this rate he might have more of a future at barca than Puig

[@xindonglin5815]

nah aleña is good enough for the team but noone wants to play him nor does he fit the barca style

[@MahirEbrahim]

"Worst" is Harsh - Change the title IMO perhaps "Most Disappointing" or something similar? Great content tho 👍

[@Timliu92]

Agreed. Many of these players have football careers the average Joe would dream of to be honest.

[@WillMiall]

Really like this list concept. Would love to see other clubs failed/best acadamy graduates

[@philthornton1382]

Liverpool’s would be a mile long

[@adampark..]

Looking at Montoya overall, he wasnt that bad tbh

[@jaimealfredomendeznuza4808]

Giovanni Dos Santos should be on the list

[@douglaspatrick868]

Yeah, especially if you are going to throw Bojan on then Gio belongs too I think.

[@alexenriquez1061]

@@douglaspatrick868 not sure about that, he at least won an Olympic Gold medal and has been to 3 world cups, Bojan did nothing honestly

[@josemiguelfierrosramirez3758]

And his brother Jonathan

[@ipodtouch470]

@@alexenriquez1061 The wc appearance stat isn't fair though. The Mexican national team is much weaker then Spain's national team. Gio would have never made Spain's national team and I can bet Bojan would have made the Mexican national team.

[@xpoints8693]

Bojan's quality was clearly evident whenever you watched him. He was disappointing but not worst.

[@bean8064]

wtf😂i actually thought this comment was from 9 years ago

[@kenny-y7038]

@@bean8064 Fr Same 💀

[@kiambotebbonikay]

I can't understand how Bojan didn't become a world-class player

[@Tocha_official]

Bojan's problem is his mentality. When he's playing without weight and clear mind, you'll get an awesome performance like he did with Inter. Heck, he even had those moments (although rarely) in Stoke. If not, well...

[@davidderuiter726]

I loved Tjanni Babangida at Ajax i totally forgot he had a smaller brother. And to be fair van Gaal had a good relationship with Tjanni. So maybe his anger at his smaller brother was because he expected more from him since his brother was such a nice guy.

[@kelvinhalluni3281]

I’d include Giovani Dos Santos, Oriol Romeu, and most importantly Gerard Deulofeo, to me he looked like the biggest prodigy after leo messi

[@Nge7stars]

giovanni and iago falque were the best after messi

[@kelvinhalluni3281]

@@Nge7stars giovani and messi are the same age,falque left in 2008, deulofeo was the one supposed to fill messi’s boots

[@pkingglazersout6665]

Just imagine if Messi had been like these people, the world of football would have missed so much

[@Ruben-hn7jx]

Just imagine how much Messi’s we have missed by now

[@user-ju4ew6hn1i]

@@Ruben-hn7jx good point

[@ChristianDoretti]

With Bartomeu he would've been, thamksfully he raised on another era.

[@lucnoordman9002]

Does anybody notices that almost half of these players have played for Ajax or is it just me?😂

[@MVOH]

Half

[@Ravenghost123]

Marc Bartra, Christian Tello and Jean Marie Dongou should be on the list!

[@seanpatt88]

2:34 Young Bojan look like that drummer kid from Whiplash.

[@varunjoseph3577]

Isn't it a little too much, some of them haven't finished their careers.

[@knightofwind2929]

It's so competitive, amazing how many players come and go, no wonder the best are paid so much. There is very few.

[@Luka_Luka_Luka]

Sergi Samper wasn't a flop, it was just because of injury. I think Halillovic must be in the list instead

[@ozymandias6644]

Halilovic wasn't a la Masia product.

[@TeamGeist06]

I remember Sergi samper, he was amazing on football manager 2013

[@karlm641]

“Flop” would indicate they failed… Most of these guys earned well over 7 figures and had careers as professional footballers. They will likely get really good coaching jobs in the future… pretty sure I’d rather be a “flop” like them instead of making videos calling them flops from my parents spare bedroom…

[@gamefox-gaming5016]

The most disappointing is definitely ASSULIN who supposed to be a talented star and next iniesta. And he ended up signing two days ago in a team for italy 4th ligue

[@Depter11]

I was literally going to write you forgot Gai Assulin and Alen Halilovic

[@boney__70]

@@Depter11 Oh my Alen Hallilovic... Football Manager goat

[@Dixo]

I would not throw Aleix Vidal hire lol, he never got a really opportuniny and when he finally started to play he was injured for the and of the season

[@user-zu6ne7yd6y]

Samper? Seriously? He's one of the best J-League players. If not injuries he still would do well in Europe

[@GamerBoy-ij2sv]

No jam was just one of those players like Pato who didn’t fail they just peaked early

[@haidukx]

Agree with all of them except Aleix Vidal who was actually a good RB for Barca , not as good as Dani Alves , but he was doing his job very well.

[@jeovannysandoval593]

I also kinda hate how such high expectations mess them up. If you remove the expectations, most of these guys are quality to a degree

[@obitosfuneral3067]

Bojan had that Assist in el CLASSICOO

[@manuelfernandez1417]

Isaac Cuenca and Bojan played both in the first team and in other big European clubs, Maybe they never became superstars but I wouldn't mind having a football career like that

[@liltone9614]

Marc Muniesa looks like his been to jail before: a kid after: bruised eye, rough beard

[@bvbs5572]

Bojan had anxiety disorder. He would be sick before games with stomach pain. He isn't really a disappointment, he got through a lot. Montoya had a decent career. La Masia makes footballers not back to back world class sensation

[@boipelomompati6040]

10 best La Masia grads should be the next vid

[@kymanilorainey8675]

Montoya has had a fairly decent career

[@JM-qe1tx]

Bojan played good while for Barca, unfortunately, injuries slowed him dow and the pressure he put at while in Barca ruined his promising world class career, he is the closest player to actually deliver similar numbers to Messi, so I wouldn’t say bad.

[@simonkaran]

Samper is like Busquets, a type of player that only works in our style of play. He was never given an opportunity in the first team so he didn't show his potential

[@ivancodor2513]

Change worst to bestfor the next vid ?🙂

[@Istoetvelevisao]

One of the shirts that Merida used is from Braga, a portuguese club.

[@Fo.Gabriel]

Well, they might be disappointing but for me Aleix Vidal was superb, the injury though ruined his career Also there's those who could've been more if they were fairly treated by the club for the last couple of years Players like Halilovic, Grimaldo, Carles Perez, Abel Ruiz, Mousa Wague Cucurella and maybe even Juan miranda, Sergi Palencia, Jose Arnaiz and back in the days C.Tello Those players could've been a big help for the club if trusted as Guardiola did.. Especially now with the financial problems If Barca was to have such a weak, young and inexperienced squad like now Academy players should've had a place! Instead of just loaning them to other teams till the right price tag show up.. ruining their game with different teams, strategies and tactics and leagues! And now you have problems in the fullback positions, need more depth in the midfield and a striker! What are those players meant for if not using them when in need?? Barca's been flopping for a decade.. what's happening now is the resonance.. it's just a result

[@makayahwhittingham5200]

Do a barca b fifa 14 squad where they are now

[@jaykashama6220]

Make a list of the best La Masia players to succeed outside Barcelona

[@rikut9220]

Sandro ramirez , Patric, Jordi masip, antonio sanabria

[@Antonio-dy2fq]

Masip is good, he was just unlucky to have ter stegen and cillesen ahead of him

[@ZachCooper88]

Toni Sanabria never played for the first team so I don't know if that would count 🤔 good suggestions though

[@cesarurzua8234]

@@ZachCooper88 still a barca academy product

[@ZachCooper88]

@@cesarurzua8234 I mean the video is about 'Graduates' and he left before playing a game for the first team

[@cesarurzua8234]

@@ZachCooper88 I personally consider an academy player as playing for their youth setup but fair enough

[@benedictdathus9670]

Montoya is not a flop he’s juste a good player, who made a different way than the others! Today, he’s still a good player, he defends really well!

[@notfound_63]

To be fair, most of the young promises that fail to deliver do so because of hard injuries or joining a team that doesn't fit them. Neither Cuenca, nor Samper are bad players at all. They just had extremely bad luck throughout, unfortunately.

[@SalmanFarizi69]

I think Bojan wasn't that disappointing as he got anxiety because he was always behind Messi's shadow. I even felt disappointed back then when they loan Bojan instead of Pedro

[@dortmundreus3618]

Van Gaal ruining a players confidence and career? *shocked*

[@halim7101]

Why do I feel like it was an act of racism

[@aadilaboobaker865]

There was 5 ads in this video🙃

[@AGCcachanilla]

No Giovani dos Santos? dubbed the new Ronaldinho

[@ballondorwinnerjkszn4483]

No Bojan,No Samper and no one with carrer ending injuries.

[@albertojlosa]

Some are disappointing, but not bad at all. Title shouldn't be "worst". Bojan played in the four best leagues in the world, scoring over 60 goals. Montoya was a regular starter in both Valencia and Brighton. Same for Muniesa with Stoke and Girona. Aleix Vidal was part of the 2014-15 Sevilla that won the UEL and he was included in the best team of the tournament. And Xavi Torres has over 100 La Liga appearances, mainly with Betis and Levante. Those are not the resumés of bad players at all. Top leagues (Premier, LaLiga, Serie A and Bundesliga) are filled with great players and huge competition for the starting spots. Not everyone can play in the teams that are candidates to the Champions League.

[@albertcalvoporcel7489]

You guys haven't heard of Gai Assulin right? Also, a lot of the players in this list have had very good profesional careers and are excelent footballers...

[@satanretina2962]

Make a video about atletico de madrid's academy, they have produced some absolute world class players throughout the years

[@manny6793]

Stfu

[@thesauce1203]

Are you talking about the team in real madrid shadow 🤔

[@juano8302]

Well i think you missed out Giovanny Dos Santos.

[@angelmxgamer1210]

vidal was soooooo good on fifa, like any fifa he was in

[@yoogeo1]

Well these clearly aren't the worst, because youve heard of them and most had professional careers. The worst are the ones who fell off and ended uo playing amateur or semi pro

[@user-dv4rh2my1x]

If they can play football for a living until late 30s, I don't think it counts as a failed career. Sure, its not champions league but you get paid playing a game you love. Tbh I would love to have a football career ending in Japan. Amazing, beautiful country with an interesting culture.

[@TheLemonaiden]

Samper turned down Arsenal,now he’s struggling in a retirement league 😂

[@ChristianDoretti]

Not really. He is a very specific player. The only clubs were I see him taking rhythm is Barca, Ajax and Manchester City amd even Bayern. But I don't know if most of these clubs will make a decision to sign him, he is very injury prone. Also, he is not struggling, passing is his main ability.

[@doncharles2005]

I don't think WORST is the right word

[@conversationclasses]

8:27 Aleix is a Catalan name and is pronounced as A LESH, the stress syllable is the second.

[@leonard-cristiangrajdeanu1055]

Cuenca played only with Steaua Bucuresti (FCSB)

[@Mark-uh3un]

Krkic was the next Messi before Messi even became a legend

[@-PlayMaker-]

Samper was plagued with injuries and that ruined his confidence. Otherwise he had all of the things to become Busi's successor

[@chigozirimnwankwo3005]

What do you mean by saying he owns the bench at Betis... That was hard 😁

[@woodinho8345]

ibrahim afellay was one of them too

[@austinashogbon8175]

I just skipped past the bojan krkic part. I didn't want to get pissed

[@sheriff3923]

Barça needs to negociate about Peredes and Parela and FIrminho and English defender

[@trvppy82]

DO 10 players Chelsea should've retained a buy clause for

[@Tocha_official]

You forgot Sergio Santamaria. And if you put Isaac Cuenca, then you should also put Jeffren.

[@realog868]

To be successful you need good players around you , a bit of luck & some hardwork too . Plenty of players who are just too good but as they don't play in a good team that wins , they get unnoticed . I don't see TAA , Davies as the best Full backs at all as most people says coz they won recently . It's a collective effort . If you think Messi & Cristiano would have won UCLs with teams lile Leganes & Southampton , you knw you're Fangirl.

[@abosami41]

You forgot do santos

[@derneil]

I think Samper was a good player but injuries killed his chances.

[@DK-ks9bc]

Worst? At least they made it to La Masia

[@JossPeura]

Samper is an amazing player. Such a gem for Kobe. Don’t talk down to him like that. His birthday was the day you posted this. Leave him and his injuries alone.-

[@HOWZERGOD]

Sergi was ruined by injuries :'(

[@gabbefagerberg1562]

Maybe the players that everyone has forgot and didn't get anywhere should be on this list instead of someone like Bojan

[@scatterbrain92]

You missed out Victor Vazquez and Marc Crosas

[@luisreynoso3294]

Dos Santos brothers should be here

[@Azaqkhi]

Sergi samper 🥺💔

[@davidakubardia9158]

just because they didnt became stars you call them a flop... I dont think you where ever a pro footballer. are you a flop? No, obviosly not but thats your logic.

[@alvarc3675]

Worst graduates? Less than 1% of the players make it to the first team. This top 10 is the story of 90% of the players, who need to go somewhere else to pursuit a pro career. At least they make it and remain playing professional football.

[@rigobertoconde6620]

Gerard Deulofeou should be on this list...

[@yesyes5515]

Hes such a good player , way underrated

[@austinashogbon8175]

Haruna babaginda was most definitely not 15 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@tgmustafa6339]

Bojan did not fulfill his potential but he is really decent

[@timothyhs5753]

How could Bojan be top 9 WORST?? He scored over 40 goals before turning 21! If thats bad i want to see you play😱😂

[@YanWalando]

Deulofeu, Denis Suarez, Alex Grimaldo?

[@UrbannKidd]

What? Grimaldo is pretty decent for benfica.

[@hl458]

Denis Suarez was decent, Valverde destroyed him, and Deulofeu ain't bad with the teams he might be playing with mid table team but he always did his job wherever he went he's far from bad.

[@m4lmg-playmaker154]

Denis Suarez was ruined by Valverde, Deulofeu is doing really good

[@olimukanya]

You guys have to know that the departure of Pep caused the decrease level of those promising players. Pep did know how to use them. And who guarantee you that the loans where they were was benefits for them? Montoya was for me the best replacement for Dani Alves. But this FOOL named bartomeu sold him for Vidal and Semedo Bojan Krkic should have been back at Barcelona after his loan at Ajax in 2012 when Pep was coach. But Pep resigned as a coach and Bojan tried to move somewhere he can play but nothing Sergi Samper was injured the most of his times. I was waiting for him because he was for me the best Replacement for Busquets over de Jong

[@polete8898]

where is deulofeu?