It's a trend that's continuing: a victim of its own success, La Masia has been losing more and more young players lately. Firstly, because clubs, aware of the quality of the players coming through the Catalan academy, are offering them salaries that Barça has no intention of offering to youngsters. But also because the first-team spots of the reigning Spanish champions are limited, and inevitably, some players, however talented, have no choice but to seek a future away from the Camp Nou. Finally, others are simply shown the door, directly or indirectly, by the Catalan management, who also see this as an interesting source of income.
Noah Darvich is in a somewhat special category, as he is in several of the aforementioned scenarios at the same time. Arriving at Barça two years ago from Freiburg, the German attacking midfielder was immediately considered one of the Catalan club's most promising players. He was voted best player at the Euro U17 two years ago, ahead of a certain... Lamine Yamal, and at Barcelona , everyone predicted a brighter future for him. The Catalan press even explained, several times this season, that Hansi Flick was following the 18-year-old's progress closely. Sport even explained that the Barça coach had called Darvich to tell him that he was counting on him for the first team's preseason, even though he has already trained several times with Raphinha and Pedri's gang in recent months.
A big flop
On paper, Noah Darvich has a bright future at Barça. Or rather, he did. Indeed, the German will leave Barça in relative anonymity. And contrary to what one might expect given his high ratings, no one seems particularly moved or saddened by his departure for Stuttgart. Indeed, despite his undeniable qualities and talent, the player who cost Barça €2.5 million never really established himself with Barça's B team, having played only 700 minutes in two seasons in the Spanish third division.
In two years, he has failed to convince any of the three coaches who have been on the Barça Atletic bench. A situation that raises questions, since even when he was on the pitch, he showed obvious qualities and was well above the fray, displaying an exceptional ability to break lines. Behavioral problems? Lack of attitude? Only the FC Barcelona coaches will be able to say, but this is a real raw talent who is leaving the club and who could rebuild once he returns home...
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