Barcelona wonderkid bids emotional farewell after La Masia exit: ‘Fortunate to be able to say that I played for Barça’

Barcelona wonderkid bids emotional farewell after La Masia exit: ‘Fortunate to be able to say that I played for Barça’ Barcelona’s youth academy has undergone significant changes this summer, with another highly rated prospect bringing his time at La Masia to an emotional end.  Midfielder Quim Junyent has officially said goodbye to the club after completing his move to Almeria , closing a chapter that lasted ten years. The 19-year-old follows Andres Cuenca in leaving Barcelona, continuing a summer in which several promising academy graduates have sought opportunities elsewhere.  While Cuenca has joined Como , Junyent now begins a new challenge after helping Spain win the UEFA Under-19 European Championship, where he was crowned the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Junyent leaves Barcelona after decade at La Masia Junyent arrived at Barcelona as a young boy and progressed through every level of La Masia, developing into one of the academy’s most respected midfielders. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Quim Junyent (@quimjunyent) He played a central role in Juvenil A’s historic treble-winning campaign during the 2024/25 season and was widely expected to become one of the key figures in Juliano Belletti’s Barcelona Atlètic squad. However, his pathway became increasingly complicated. Limited first-team opportunities and uncertainty over his role eventually convinced the midfielder that the time had come to continue his development elsewhere.  Reports linking him with Almeria during the winter transfer window also affected his situation, leading to fewer opportunities with the reserve side before he returned to Juvenil A. Junyent’s emotional farewell to Barcelona After the Under-19 European Championship, Junyent finally shared his farewell to Barcelona. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Quim Junyent (@quimjunyent) In an emotional message reflecting on his decade at the club, the midfielder expressed his gratitude for fulfilling a lifelong dream. “I am very fortunate to be able to say that I played for Barça – a dream come true,” he wrote. The message was accompanied by two symbolic photographs, one taken at the Johan Cruyff Stadium and another showing a young Junyent kissing the Barcelona crest when he first joined the club. His words attracted messages of support from several former teammates, including Pau Cubarsi, as well as former Barcelona academy player Pedro ‘Dro’ Fernandez, who is now with Paris Saint-Germain.