Former Scout and Technical Secretary at Barcelona Ramon Planes has revealed how the signings of several of their young stars come about in an interview with Cadena SER. Planes, most recently sporting director at Getafe, left Barcelona in 2021, but several of the Blaugrana’s best young talents today were signed by Planes.
Not least Ronald Araujo, and Pedri, who many believe to be amongst the best players in the world at their position these days.
Planes has explained that he was on the verge of joining Getafe, before he took him to Barcelona.
“Araujo was much closer to Getafe than to Barca. I had followed him. When the proposal to go to Barca appeared, I took him with me to Barcelona. At Getafe he would have been in the first team, at Barca he had to follow another path.”
“Immediately they told me yes at Barca, he clearly had the level to be in the first team. They believed in me.”
Meanwhile Pedri was signing that they did not give a second thought.
“We said that he had to be signed now. His quality has never surprised me. That maturity that he showed in a ‘Clásico’ at the time of the pandemic at the age of 17… I remember it perfectly. Koeman told me that he was not going to sub him anymore.”
“They are players who can deal with the pressure of the Barca shirt.”
Perhaps a little more raw, Ez Abde is another player who is starting to show his talent in La Liga with Osasuna.He was signed from Hercules at the age of 18 for €2m.
“His character, determination and personality,” were the defining factors in his signing.
“He gives an image of being apathetic, but he has a lot of character and he believes a lot in himself. He sees football as a South American footballer, as a lifeline.”
Abde has struck up a close friendship with Argentine striker Chimy Avila at Osasuna, who treats Abde as family. Avila himself fought his way through plenty of difficulty in order to make it in professional football.
