With Gavi extending his contract following footsteps of Pedri, Fati and Araujo, FC Barcelona's future looks very secure
Barça have completed the rejuvenation of the squad that began last season
Joan Laporta, the Blaugrana president, summed it up very accurately yesterday during Gavi's renewal ceremony at Camp Nou.
"Today is a historic day. We are looking at the present, the immediate present and the future of Barça".
With the signing of the midfielder from Seville, the Blaugrana club has closed the cycle of renewals that began at the beginning of last season with Pedri and Ansu Fati followed by Araujo.
The Canary Islander, the Spanish-Bissau-Guinean, the Uruguayan and the Sevillian are called to take over the mantle from the old guard and culminate the squad rejuvenation which also saw youngsters such as Eric Garcia and Ferran Torres arrive at the Camp Nou.
All of them will play a leading role.
The average age of this new batch of young talent is just over 20 years old. Araujo is the oldest of the group at 23, while Gavi (18) is the youngest, ahead of Pedri (19), Ansu (19), Eric (21) and Ferran (22).
With them, Barcelona have secured their future. They all have plenty of talent and have contracts until at least 2026. Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres are the only two exceptions, as both are under contract until 2027.
Xavi Hernandez, Blaugrana coach, has blind faith in their potential. Gavi, Pedri, Araujo and Eric are already undisputed in the starting eleven, while Ferran Torres and Ansu are set to break into it sooner rather than later.
Two other young talents from the youth academy, Nico and Alejandro Balde, should soon join this select group.
The former has had to leave on loan to Valencia in search of playing time, but with a contract until 2026 and 20 years old, Xavi is counting on him for the future.
Balde has burst onto the scene this season and it won't be long before he is signed for the first team. At 18, he has a contract until 2024 after renewing it in July last year.
