XAVI TAKES AIM
Former Barcelona star Xavi Hernandez has a very strict opinion when it comes to signing players who leave Barca for the big contracts (like Bellerin did) only to profess their love for the club and beg for a return as soon as they make it big!
Hector Bellerin is a 22 year old defender who began his playing career in the youth academy of Barcelona but chose to move to Arsenal, where he has a contract with which extends until 2023. Tabloid press have linked the Spanish club with bringing Bellerin back to Camp Nou but Xavi Hernandez on the other hand has a very different opinion about bringing Hector Bellerin back.
"I haven't seen him play a lot, but what I will say is I find it difficult to accept signing a player who was already at the club. Of course it can work out, but I would not sign players who leave. Why are they leaving at 16, 17? I find it baffling. I just don't understand it."
"A player can't leave during the development process. When I was 16 I didn't want to leave. I felt that I was in the best place I could possibly be. If Chelsea or Manchester United came in for me, I would have said no. Barcelona needs to nurture their own homegrown players. They can't leave like this. Playing in the first team has never been easy. I had a tough time getting there and getting settled in the time¨
There are a few exceptions for certain players that cannot control what happens to them especially during their younger years which is the case of Jordi Alba who initiated his career in the youth academy of Barcelona but was released at the age of 16 and this was completely Barcelona´s decision with the youngster not really being able to do much and after a few years of playing with various clubs at the highest level, Barcelona opted to bring Jordi Alba back to Camp Nou. If you think Bellerin will return, you can claim your NetBet free bet here and get double the odds on him moving back!
Xavi is mostly frustrated or confused in relation to the players that decide by their own will to leave Barcelona as he believes that those types of performers should never be given the chance to return to the club.
Xavi also criticized the current philosophy at the club and believes that the club is no longer producing talented youngsters. He said that there was a time that the club was producing quality players on a regular basis, and he feels that this is a long time back now. He believes that the team has become careless and that they have forgotten the importance of their training academy.
He said that it had been a long time since the Barcelona academy produced players such as Iniesta, Puyol, Messi, and Valdes. For him, Barcelona has become a bit complacent, and they thought that they would be producing these kinds of players without any effort. But things have changed, and it is a long time since they have produced a quality player.
Xavi said that the new manager is more concerned about signing accomplished players rather than developing them at the academy. He believes that this is a big mistake as these new players when they arrive they do not have the Barcelona philosophy and that they are more concerned about making money.
Xavi believes that it is not too late now and that the team can still change the way they are running the academy. He said that great emphasis should be placed on youth development and that the young players should be given enough playing time in the Barcelona first team. Instead of just signing new players the team should focus on promoting internally first in order to give chances to players coming from the academy.