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Manchester City have earned a clear reprimand from Barcelona and the club’s president regarding the future of their emerging young talents.
The Premier League champions, along with their recruitment network working on behalf of the wider City Football Group, are known for their judgement of identifying the most sensible talents and signing some of the most productive names in world football from youth.
In recent seasons, Manchester City have won festivals from some of South America’s most promising names, with the likes of Yan Couto, Maximo Perrone, Claudio Echeverri and Julian Alvarez committing their futures to the City Group project.
However, while Manchester City assumes its percentage of emerging names and reaps the rewards in terms of good luck in the first team and monetary increases in revenue from the City Football Group and the Etihad Club, they continue to see global superstars emerge elsewhere. .
A notable example is FC Barcelona’s continued production of young skills, with the last European Championship in Germany featuring several La Masia graduates and eventual winners Spain.
At a press conference earlier this week, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola asked about the future of Barcelona’s brightest new young talents emerging from its famed La Masia education system, including Pedri and Lamine Yamal.
“They are too good,” said Guardiola, before revealing a stern warning for him and the players at the Etihad Stadium from Barcelona president Joan Laporta.
“They are for sale, the president told me,” Guardiola continued. “And I don’t mean that ironically. In fact, Barcelona have signed more Manchester City players than the other way around.
Reports from Spain in recent years have already indicated that City are paying attention to Barcelona’s progression and existing prodigies, making ambitious offers to sign players away from their home country.
A Spanish media report from September 2023 claimed that Manchester City officials “did everything possible” to check and sign Lamine Yamal that summer, but in the end they failed, while relations between the two clubs “deteriorated” as a result.
Similarly, in August 2019, City were allegedly interested in the then 16-year-old Pedri from Tenerife and sent scouts to Marbella to keep an eye on the player. First division club.
A few months later, Spanish media revealed that the teenager had agreed to sign for Barcelona the following year, rejecting several offers from several clubs, including Real Madrid, Manchester City and Liverpool.