Sixteen year-olds don’t get given 100m euros (£86m) buy-out clauses unless they’re special. Ilaix Moriba was that age back in 2019 when Barcelona decided to put the big three-figures on him to ward off possible Premier League suitors.
He was already playing regularly for the under-19s at the time and the plan was to fast-track him to the first team if his progress allowed for it.
Last weekend just two years after the club made that bold move – desperate for him not to grow impatient over a lack of chances of advancing at the Camp Nou – he scored his first goal for the club in La Liga.