Barcelona could steal Real Madrid academy gem with superagent’s help

Barcelona have been highly successful in producing and utilising their academy talents in the first team.

In recent years, players such as Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Alejandro Balde and Lamine Yamal have all made their breakthroughs in the senior team.

Yamal, in particular, appears to be a promising one, with the youngsters widely expected to participate for Spain in the upcoming European Championship.

However, the same cannot be said for his Real Madrid counterpart Paulo Iago. A central midfielder by trade, Iago belongs to the same generation as Yamal and the two closely were compared in the initial stages of their careers.

Iago may leave Real Madrid this summer

While Yamal is regarded as one of the best young attackers in Europe, Iago is not even able to play for Real Madrid’s subsidiary squad.

According to Diario SPORT, the youngster is not happy with the situation and is unsure whether he will find his breakthrough at Real Madrid. As such, he may leave Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season.

Barcelona on high alert?

Paulo Iago’s precarious situation has put Barcelona on red alert. It appears the Catalans are closely monitoring the development and could sign him in the coming summer.

There is speculation that Iago, too, might end up joining Barça as he is represented by Jorge Mendes.

The Portuguese superagent is quite close to Barcelona president Joan Laporta and has helped the club strike many deals in the past. He is, in fact, working with Barça to help them extend the loan spell of Joao Felix.

However, the report does add that several Premier League and Bundesliga clubs are also interested in the services of Iago, who has a release clause of €13 million.