So yesterday I was digging through old transfer news about Spanish second division teams – don’t ask why, just one of those random rabbit holes – and I kept bumping into this weird pattern: players hopping straight from Barça B to freaking Espanyol. Rivals! It felt totally wrong. Like seeing someone leave your house and immediately move in next door with the neighbor you hate.
My brain just wouldn’t let it go, you know? I had to figure out who actually did this and maybe even why the hell they’d cross that line. So, grabbed my coffee (black, no sugar, obviously), cracked open the laptop at my messy kitchen table, and dove in properly.
First Stop: Finding Names
Started simple. Fired up the football databases, searched for Espanyol’s squads over the last, say, 10 seasons. Then, manually checked each player’s history. Tedious? Absolutely. Like watching paint dry, but with more Spanish surnames. Slowly, a list started forming:
- Abraham Minero: Midfielder. Spotted him first.
- Ton Salvador: Another midfielder popping up.
- Sergio Busquets: Yeah, not that one! His younger brother, Carlos. Defender.
- Xavi Simons: This one shocked me! The Dutch wonderkid played briefly for Barça Juvenil A before Barça B, then… boom, Espanyol in 2017? Had to dig deeper on that.
Huh. More names kept trickling in. Javi Puado, another Juvenil A kid who never hit Barça B but went Juvenil A -> Espanyol’s reserves. Víctor Sánchez? Nope, different guy. The goalie? Ángel Rodríguez. Defender? Ramon Ramos. Suddenly I had almost a whole starting eleven of traitors, I mean, transfers!
The “When” Part Was Easy(ish)
Pinpointing exact dates was mostly scrolling through transfer windows on those database sites. Annoying, but straightforward. The trends were clear though:
- A bunch happened around 2014 and 2015. Seemed like Espanyol was just raiding the Barça B bargain bin.
- Simons was the big outlier jumping ship way earlier in 2017 as a youth player.
- A few others dribbled in later, mostly between 2017 and 2019.
The Big Question: WHY?
This is where it got messy. News reports on these guys are thin, especially the not-so-famous ones. But here’s the scraps I pieced together:
- Pure Convenience: Espanyol’s training ground is literally down the road from La Masia! Minero, Salvador, Busquets… if Barça B didn’t need you anymore, why uproot? Just drive 5 minutes and start fresh. Simple as that.
- Juicy Wages: Rumors swirled for a couple. Carlos Busquets supposedly got way more money at Espanyol than Barça would ever pay a B teamer. Hard to confirm exact numbers, but whispers were strong.
- Xavi Simons: The Headscratcher Okay, this kid was supposed to be golden. He’d literally just signed his first pro contract with Barça in early 2017. Then, suddenly, Espanyol announced him signing in July 2017. What gives?
- Dug into Spanish youth contract rules. Found it: kids under 16 can only sign three-year deals max. So yeah, Barça signed him January 2017… but that contract was legally only good until he turned 16! Classic Barça blunder.
- Espanyol swooped in the second he legally could leave, probably waving a better deal or more promise of playing time. Brutal for Barça fans.
- The Grudge Factor (Maybe)? Found old forum posts about players like Puado feeling ignored at Barça youth level. Espanyol offered a clearer path to get actual minutes sooner. Not proven, but makes sense.
What’s the Big Picture?
After sifting through all this, it hit me: Barça B is basically Espanyol’s low-cost scouting department. Why bother scouring the country when your arch-rival’s backyard has talent they’re letting walk away? It’s kinda embarrassing for Barça, honestly. Shows how badly they sometimes manage their youth pipeline. Kids leave for pennies (or free!) because they feel unwanted, see a better chance next door, or – like Simons – escape thanks to paperwork screw-ups. Espanyol just sits there, waiting to pick up the pieces. Rivals aren’t just on the pitch, they’re poaching your future in your own backyard. Wild.