5 players ruined by FC Barcelona

Barcelona are one of the greatest clubs in the world with a decent reputation. No doubt, a large piece of credit goes to phenomenal players who have ply their trades for the Catalans.



However, the club’s youth academy, La masia, deserves a worthy praise for the world class talent that emerged in recent years. Puyol, Pique, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, to mention but a few, are some of the best players to came through from the academy and we can’t but appreciate the system.

But, not taking away the fact La Blaugrana has created legends, it is also pertinent to state the players whose career were destroyed in Nou camp. In recent times, not all players or young talents made it to the first team because of the world class talents at Barçelona.

Here is the list of five players Barcelona ended their careers;

5. Dymytro Chygrynskiy



The 2008/2009 season is probably one of the most prolific seasons Barcelona ever experienced. Having won treble that campaign, a transfer war chest from the board was inevitable for Pep Guardiola to strengthen the team.

We all remember how Zlatan Ibrahimovic was signed that summer, and had a total failure performance before he left the club.

The services of a defender, Dymytro Chygrynskiy, was also acquired in the same transfer window for a club record fee of £20M from Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Ukraine International was unable to established himself as a result of solid partnership of Puyol and Gerard Pique, playing just 851 minutes throughout his career for the club. Pep had a hesitation to lay him off because he sees him as a long-term project.

But due to financial crisis rocking the boat of the club back then, the President, Joan LaPorta, facilitated his return back to Shakhtar in a deal short of amount he was acquired.

Till this moment, Dymytro has never been opportune to play for a big club like Barcelona and currently plays for AEK Athens of Greece.

4. Alen Halilovic



Arrived in Camp Nou for a fee of €2.2M in May 2014 at the age of 18. Alen halilovic was centre of transfer rumours because of his dribbling skills and got a comparison of Messi.

So much expectation was placed on him to be the key player of the club in the future but unfortunately in 2016, he departed the club after two seasons.

The little attacking midfielder, couldn’t break into first team because Messi-Suarez-Neymar combination, was a handful for defenders across Europe.

In a bid of getting him playing time, he spent the season on loan at Sporting gijón. He was eventually sold to Hamburg the following transfer window by Luis Enrique.

Alen Halilovic, 21, whose exciting and promising talent was known to football lovers, is currently on loan at Las Palmas from Hamburg.

Barcelona included a buy-back clause in his transfer paper work but the Catalans ain’t gonna evoke the clause anytime soon.

3. Marc Muniesa



Muniesa is one of the club’s young talent to have come through La masia and joined first team in 2009.

Unfortunately, inability to have playing time under his berth in his four seasons with Barca, denied Marc an opportunity to improve his abilities and set the world ablaze with his raw talent.

Marc appeared for Barca’s first team four times throughout his four years at the Nou camp - a disheartening statistics. With Barcelona defense featuring Puyol, Pique, Alba and Alves Alba, he considered himself “surplus to requirements” in Nou camp.

Out of frustration, he left for England and signed for Stoke city but became worse as he currently plays for Girona fc on a loan deal.

Would you object if I say he deserves a better club?

2. Ibrahim Afellay



When Ibrahim Afellay arrived In Barcelona in 2011, he was one of the most promising talents, who had came through from the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven.

His career was flushed down the pipeline as he gets 35 appearances in four years with the club and netted just twice! Oops!!!

In addition, he was sent on loan spells, back-to-back with Schalke and Olympiakos. While on loan with those two clubs, Barcelona signed Neymar and Suarez, Afellay is in no way to become a regular starter ahead of the two phenomenal players.

Consequently, in 2015, he signed on a free transfer for Stoke city and up till this moment, he never left. If he had been given playing time, there is no doubt Ibrahim Afellay would have capitalized on it.

1. Bojan Krkic

Frank Rijkaard labelled him as a “fortune” and enjoyed a comparison with Barcelona legend, Lionel Messi.

That was quite inevitable considering how he broke Messi’s record in grand style as the youngest Catalan player to score on his debut match with the first team.

In his breakthrough season under Frank Rijkaard, with 48 appearances, he got on the scoresheet 12 times with 6 assists.

These statistics are really overwhelming for 17 years old boy playing among the gladiators of football.

However, the young lad suffered a massive set back in his glowing career when Frank Rijkaard was succeeded by Pep Guardiola.

Having enjoyed first team football, Bojan put up a resistant attitude when offered to play for Barça B team. And according to Newton’s third law of motion, he had a fall out with Pep and consequently, he got a reduced playing time.

Conclusively, in 2011, the lad departed for Roma in search for quality playing time. He made a return back to his boyhood club at the beginning of 2013/2014 campaign but was still unable to convince Guardiola he belongs here and subsequently sent to Ajax on loan.

He’s seem forgotten, as he plays for Alaves on loan from Stoke city.