La Masia stars Gavi & Ilias agree new contracts with Barcelona

The State of Emergency in Spain, imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, has come at the worst time for Barcelona's academy. 

The club, led by academy director Patrick Kluivert in collaboration with Jordi Roura and Aureli Altimira, have been working on renewing the best young talent for months. 

However, due to the quarantine measures in the country, the club have had to put a hold on talks with players and parents to a certain degree. 

Before the lockdown, though, SPORT can reveal that the club had managed to close renewal agreements with two of the brightest players at La Masia: Pablo Páez ‘Gavi’ and Ilias Akhomach.

Gavi and Akhomach were two of the players the club were desperate to not lose this summer. The duo, who both play for Barça's U16 team, had drawn interest from Manchester City, PSG and Monaco. 

However, this time Barça will win the battle. Attacking midfielder Gavi, who joined the club from Real Betis, is tipped to go on to make the first team at the Catalan club and will extend his deal. 

Winger Akhomach has come on leaps and bounds over the last 12 months and will also extend his terms. It's now just a matter of signing the contract once the situation returns to normality in Spain. 

Therefore, after signing new deals with Ilaix Moriba and Ansu Fati, the club continue to tie down the stars of the future.