In the summer of 2014, a 16-year-old attacking midfield prospect by the name of Dani Olmo left Barcelona’s La Masia.
It’s a common occurrence, that a potential graduate departs one of football’s most intense talent factories. Some, sadly, are not good enough and are dropped. But Olmo was different.
He assessed his options at Barcelona and deduced that it would be impossible for him to progress evenly. There would be too much time playing youth or B-team football and not enough meaningful minutes in those crucial developmental years ahead. He was marked out as one of the best talents of his generation and losing him was certainly a blow for Barca.