Barcelona on the verge of losing 19-year-old midfield talent to Qatar

Barcelona have had a successful few months locking down some of their key players in the first team, but in the youth ranks, the Blaugrana are having more of a troubled time. After Unai Hernandez, at the time captain of Barca Atletic, left for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, more could be set to follow him out the door.

Earlier this week it was highlighted that a number of the most talented players in Barcelona’s under-19s side are out of contract at the end of the season, without any clarity on whether they will renew their deals. Since, Barcelona have announced a one-year extension for Alvaro ‘Trilli’ Perez, and a two-year unilateral contract extension for under-19s winger Jan Virgili.

However they do look set to lose another of their Atletic talents in Pau Prim. The 19-year-old midfielder, at one stage tipped as their most natural alternative to Sergio Busquets in their academy, has been frozen out of action at Barca Atletic due to his refusal to sign a contract extension. In January, as Hernandez finalised his move away for somewhere in the region of €4-5m, it was rumoured that Prim could follow.

Andreas Christensen will resume group training next week, and is set to be handed the medical green light at the end of the month. @fansjavimiguel

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 20, 2025

As per Marca, Prim is now on the verge of a move to Qatar, and in particular Al-Sadd. Out of contract at the end of the season, in his case Barcelona will lose Prim for free, who feels that his path to the first team is blocked. With Frenkie de Jong back playing, Marc Casado behind him and Marc Bernal having jumped him in the pecking order, opportunities are likely to be few and far between, despite the latter two being out for the rest of the season.

Barcelona have always tended to lose some of their best academy talents, as evidenced by the expensive returns of Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas and most recently Dani Olmo. While some of them are unlikely to triumph without the necessary opportunities, there has been some irritation in the Catalan capital that they tend to lose their Masia products without much financial benefit.