16-year-old La Masia gem close to signing first professional contract with Barcelona | OneFootball

Barcelona’s La Masia is a factory that never stops churning out talent, and in recent years, its stocks have gone sky-high once more.

The academy promotes the club’s values, style of play, and principles from the grassroots level and continually produces players who excite the first team.

Of the players coming to age similarly is Artem Rybak, a 16-year-old midfield talent seen as one of the best in the quarry and whose future the club are swiftly advancing towards controlling.

On the horizon

As relayed by SPORT in a recent report, Barcelona are all but set to confirm the renewal of Rybak as the player is also set to turn 16 soon.

He has been at the club academy for four years now, and his only dream is to continue being at the club for the foreseeable future.

The institution that is Barcelona’s heart and soul. (Photo credit should read JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images)

Now, as he approaches the age where he can sign his first professional contract, he has no doubt that he will sign and commit his future to the Catalan institution.

Since he arrived from Ukraine four years ago amid the war situation, Rybak has developed wonderfully at Barcelona and the club see him as having the ability to develop into a special player.

He plays as a false-nine and a winger, although the club hierarchy eventually sees him stabilise as an interior midfielder where he shows the most flair. He has a magical left-foot and has adapted wonderfully to the Cruyffian ways.

As it stands, Rybak is a regular starter in Barcelona’s U16 side under David Sanchez and already has 20 official appearances this season with seven goals to his name.

He has, however, also played five games with the Juvenil B team already and has scored two goals in that duration, showing that he is ready to punch above his weight.