All good things come to an end, not least in football, and the era of Barcelona's golden generation of superstars from their own production line is now drawing to a close.
Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets are now all that remain of a previously formidable spine of generational talents which had come through the club's world-famous La Masia academy and, in truth, the club have proved less than inspired in their bid to keep the conveyor belt moving.
The departures of Victor Valdes, Carles Puyol, Xavi and Andres Iniesta paved the way for the next generation of young stars to emerge through the talent-laden youth ranks in Catalonia and succeed one generation of superstars with another through their own means.