Real Madrid have not had a homegrown youngster make the cut since Lucas Vazquez came into the side and carved out a place in the squad. The absence of a homegrown star was all the more evident against Barcelona, as Sergio Busquets and Gavi put them to the sword.
Speaking to Cadena SER on the matter, Real Madrid legend Predrag Mijatovic did not predict great things ahead for Los Blancos.
“I don’t think the issue of the academy is black or white. At the moment, I don’t see any player with the potential to be a ‘Gavi’, but there are good complementary players like Arribas.”
He went on to explain what was in his mind the key difference between Barcelona’s academy players and those of ‘La Fabrica’, including a shot at Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard.
“Barca’s own academy players have more patience. Odegaard is very talented, he had opportunities, but at the key moment he decided to leave. At that moment you can’t do anything, you can’t force them. Those of Madrid do not have patience.”
The Norwegian would probably argue that the by the time he left Real Madrid, he had already spent several seasons on loan. Having impressed at Real Sociedad, Real Madrid insisted on bringing him back ahead of time, only for Zinedine Zidane to give a brief shot in the starting XI.
Equally, what defined Gavi was not patience but quality. Barcelona turned to him in an emergency, and he managed to impress at the age of just 16. It could be argued that often Real Madrid’s squad planning leaves little room for youngsters from their own academy, while necessity is mother of opportunity in Catalonia.
