Barcelona DNA: Eight players from La Masia in Spain’s Olympics squad | OneFootball

With just a month before the Paris Olympics kicks off, Spain has officially announced its squad, featuring three Barcelona stars.

La Roja’s U23 manager Santi Denia has called up Fermin Lopez, Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia while Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde have both missed out.

However, while only three Barcelona players were able to make the squad for Olympics, a total of eight players from La Masia have found their place in the squad, which indicates the presence of strong Barcelona DNA in the Spanish U23 setup.

Eight La Masia trainees in Spain Olympic team

Apart from Garcia, Fermin and Cubarsi, the remaining five players span from different clubs across Europe. But one common factor that binds them together is that all of them are a product of the famed La Masia youth academy.

In the goalkeeping position, former Barcelona starlet Arnau Tenas, who currently plays for PSG, has found himself in the team.

Arnau Tenas now part of Spain’s Olympic team (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Elsewhere in defence, fullbacks Juan Miranda (Real Betis) and Sergio Gomez (Manchester City) are also a part of Santi Denia’s 23-man setup.

In midfield, Adrian Bernabe will be tasked with the responsibility of offering creativity in the middle of the park. Bernabe left Barcelona in 2018 and currently plies his trade for Parma.

The final La Masia graduate who makes the list is Abel Ruiz, a former Barcelona youth striker, who left the club to join Braga in 2020.

Abel Ruiz has enjoyed a decent 2023/24 campaign in the Portuguese top flight and is reportedly on the verge of joining Girona this summer.

Interestingly, Barcelona could stand to gain from Ruiz’s potential move to Girona, as the club reportedly hold 10% of the player’s transfer rights.

Nevertheless, with a blend of Barcelona starlets and La Masia graduates from other clubs, this Spanish U23 team has a unique opportunity to make a strong impression on the Olympic stage this summer.

It must be noted that Santi Denia has named a 22-man squad which will be reduced to 18 with four players set to be axed.