‘Speed was key’: How Barcelona beat Real Madrid to sign midfield gem

Barcelona are currently one of the most exciting team in Europe. The arrival of Hansi Flick in the summer have seen the club play a good style of football.

Hansi Flick has built his team around Barcelona’s academy players and this has generated applauds from fans across the globe. The victory over Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the El Classico also proves Barca’s dominance over top team.

With Barcelona’s academy not relenting on its quest to promote more players, the two men mainly responsible for the signings of players like Gavi, Lamine Yamal, Alejandro Balde, Pau Cubarsi, and Fermin Lopez have revealed how they got things done.

The former directors of Barcelona’s Youth Football, Jordi Roura and Aureli Altimira, recently spoke to Mundo Deportivo in an extensive interview, during which they shed light on how these signings at La Masia came about.

Roura and Altimira, during the interview, revealed that Real Madrid also wanted Gavi before he was signed at La Masia, while Atletico Madrid were also interested.

Gavi looks on prior the LaLiga match between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

“We got very good information from the Andalusian scouts. And it is essential to know how to use it. On Sunday we were already watching him in Seville. I immediately called Aureli,” said Roura.

“Because we had to get active quickly. We spoke to his agent, Ivan de la Pena, because Madrid, Atlético and Villarreal were all watching and within a week Gavi was already visiting La Masia. Speed was key,” he added.

Gavi has become an important figure in the senior team. He is seen as a future first-team captain at the club and even donned the captain’s armband earlier this month when he made his return from injury after 11 months against Sevilla.