Three escapes from La Masia that triumphed in the Bundesliga

Three players trained at La Masia are putting in impressive performances in the Bundesliga. One of them, Alejandro Grimaldo, left FC Barcelona a long time ago. He was transferred in December 2015 to Benfica, for a total fee of 1.5 million euros. He arrived at Bayer Leverkusen in the summer without a contract and at 28 years old he is an undisputed part of the Bundesliga leaders. Another is the midfielder Xavi Simons, 20 years old, who in 2019 left Barça for PSG because the Barça club did not put him in the first step in the priority of the quarry and is now succeeding on loan in Leipzig. The third is winger/midfielder Dani Olmo. At the age of 16, he left the Barça club in 2014 and took a risk by signing for Dinamo Zagreb. Now, at 25 years old, he is a regular starter at Leipzig. Between the three of them this season they have 46 goal-cost actions (23 themselves and 23 assists). Their combined market value, according to the specialized website Transfermarkt, is 155 million euros.

Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen)

10 goals, 11 assists for the German leader

Alejandro Grimaldo, a 28-year-old left back, left Benfica in the summer after ending his contract with the historic Portuguese club, with 301 games on his resume, 26 goals and 58 assists. He signed without a transfer for Bayer Leverkusen and, with the help of . He has a contract until 2027. A few months ago he admitted that he wanted to “return to Barça, but no one called”, after joining the Barça reserve team as a ceiling. He became an absolute international only once. Transfermarkt values ​​him at 35 million euros.

2

Dani Olmo (Leipzig)

6 goals, 3 assists against Madrid’s European rivals

Chronologically, he was the first of the three to leave Barça. He did it in 2014 at the age of 16 to make an extravagant bet but it turned out well, when he signed for Dynamo Zagreb. After going through Salzburg, he ended up in Leipzig, where he has a contract until 2027 and an exit clause of 60 million euros. At 25 years old, he is an expert: 35 times international for Spain, where he scored 7 goals. He started on Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Real Madrid, playing 75 minutes. His season, due to a clavicle operation, has so far allowed him to play only 13 official matches, in which he has recorded remarkable numbers: 6 goals and 3 assists distributed in 769 minutes. It basically sounds like an interesting return for Barça, without going overboard. Transfermarkt values ​​it at 50 million euros.

3

Xavi Simons (Leipzig)

7 goals, 9 assists and drives Carvajal

Another of Real Madrid’s rivals in the Champions League is Xavi Simons. On Tuesday, the former Barça youth player played a great game against the white team, despite the controversial German defeat (0-1). Simons’ mobility, aggressiveness and strength drove Dani Carvajal crazy, who miraculously escaped dismissal after two nasty tackles on Simons, which he also accused of being fake. Simons’ time at Leipzig, where he was playing on loan from PSG, proved his maturity in football. At 20 years old, he proved the leap in quality he made last season at PSV Eindhoven, scoring 22 goals and providing 12 assists in 48 games. PSG bought him back for 4.5 million euros and, after signing him until 2027, they loaned him this season to Leipzig with great results and with a notice to get him back for the 2024-25 campaign: 7 goals and 9 assists in 30 games and 2,332 minutes on the field. Simons, capped 11 times by Holland, had a great media profile during his time at La Masia which, more than benefited him, hurt him when the club chose a footballer who was under control of the late Mino Raiola. Barça chose to bet on midfielder Ilaix Moriba, who initially had an important appearance thanks to Ronald Koeman in the culé first team. Finally, Ilaix said “yes” to a sale of Barça in exchange for 16 million euros to end up in Leipzig, where Simons is strangely now a regular starter. For his part, Ilaix recently arrived on loan at Getafe, where he played one game. He has yet to make his Leipzig debut this season.