Barcelona 21-year-old defensive prospect announces exit from club | OneFootball

With Barcelona Atletic failing to win promotion to La Liga 2, a number of players from the Catalans’ subsidiary side are expected to come to the end of their cycles and move on from the club.

In one such instance, 21-year-old defensive prospect Pelayo Fernandez has confirmed that he is leaving Barcelona with his contract expiring on June 30.

Pelayo joined Barça’s La Masia youth setup in 2019, arriving from Quirinal CF and had become a regular in the reserve team over the past two years.

The 21-year-old has made 46 appearances for Barça Atletic, 18 of which came in the season gone by.

Having undergone surgery on his knee last September, Pelayo missed a few months of action this past season, but regained prominence after Mamadou Mbacke’s injury.

Pelayo’s contract with Barcelona stood to expire on June 30 and the player and the club have opted to part ways.

🔗 Instagram

Taking to Instagram, the 21-year-old Spaniard announced his departure with a message that read:

“The day that I never wanted to come has arrived, but football and life sometimes don’t go the way you want them to. When I left home at the age of 16 I never imagined that I would experience everything I have experienced with this shirt and from the first day I walked through the door of La Masia I understood what Barça means.”

Thanking everyone who came across his path during his time at Barcelona, Pelayo wrote: “I would like to thank all those people who have crossed my path during these 5 years in Barcelona. I will always have them in my heart.

“But above all, I want to thank my family and my closest friends, who already know who they are. I just want you to know that wherever I go I will always be one of you. Thank you very much for everything! Always Barça!”

Pelayo Fernandez is the second player to leave Barcelona today after Sergino Dest completed a free transfer move to PSV.