Former Barcelona player regrets leaving the club in 2021: “I have made mistakes”

Under severe financial distress, Barcelona have largely been kept afloat by La Masia over the last three to four years, with the academy producing some world class talent across the pitch.

This has kept Barcelona largely competitive. Be it Marc Guiu’s late winner against Athletic Club this season, Gavi’s exploits over the last couple of years in midfield, or a certain Ilaix Moriba’s dominant showing under Ronald Koeman, La Masia has come up clutch.

Speaking of which, Barcelona let go of the aforementioned Moriba in the summer of 2021 when the midfielder demanded a ludicrous contract despite only being 18 years old.

Barça were of course not ready to comply with his demands, and as a result, he ended up joining RB Leipzig that summer. His career has been largely chaotic since then.

After an unsuccessful half a season at Leipzig, he joined Valencia on loan, and even failed to impress there. He failed to get game-time in Bundesliga and has now joined Getafe on loan until the end of the season.

“I have made mistakes and that is what life is about, learning what one has done. I have a great love for the club of my life, Barcelona. I made mistakes and now I’m at a point where I want everyone to see the player they saw,” Moriba said during a presser with Getafe (h/t BarcaBuzz).

“I’m looking forward to starting to play here (at Getafe), for everyone to start respecting me as they did. Whether or not a correct decision was made (in leaving Barcelona), the truth is that I’m happy now to be here and I want to show that I am still the same and I want to work for it,” he added.

Already on the fourth club of his career, Moriba is still only 21. This Getafe spell could be rectified even if he fails to perform, but he has definitely become the case study for La Masia players who choose money over patience at Barcelona.

Barcelona will host Getafe on 24th of this month in what could be a very unwelcome return for the now-Leipzig man.