Barcelona are a club that is synonymous with the development of youth players. Over the years, the club have developed a host of young talents, who have gone on to become world-class stars.
While that trend has continued in the form of Alejandro Balde, Gavi and Ansu Fati in the current avatar of Barcelona, the club’s hierarchy is unhappy with the way the grassroots team is being run, reports Toni Juanmarti.
Grassroots director Jose Ramon Alexanco has come under the scanner in recent times. His work is being questioned as the majority of important negotiations are now done by Barcelona’s hierarchy led by president Joan Laporta and sporting director Mateu Alemany.
Moreover, Barça not being able to hold Ilias Akhomach and Victor Barbera down to long-term contracts has not gone down well with the club’s hierarchy. This has led to uncertainty over the future of Ramon Alexanco, who was appointed to the role in April 2021.
Akhomach and Barbera have indeed been critical assets for Barcelona’s youth setups over the past couple of years. Akhomach, for one, has featured in 20 league matches for the subsidiary squad, along with three UEFA Youth League matches.
But there are uncertainty over the future of the attacker, who has been subjected to a move to Leeds United at the end of the season.
Barbera, too, is likely to depart Camp Nou as a free agent in the summer despite playing a key role and even scoring eight league goals for Barça Athletic this season. The potential exits of him and Akhomach has left the Barcelona board extremely disappointed.
The club’s hierarchy is further annoyed at the fact that both have continued to play for Barça in the UEFA Youth League despite having no future in the team. Therefore, it could soon be time for evaluation, as far as the roles of the grassroots team is concerned.
