Not all the stories of youth players who appear in the Barça first team have such a happy ending as the one that, right now, Lamine Yamal is presumed to have.. Some touch the sky with their fingertips only to find themselves awakened terribly early from what they thought was their best dream.. The young Nico González, perhaps, is the last great example of that other side of football. When he debuted in the elite under Ronald Koeman, many believed they saw him as the best replacement for Sergio Busquets.. Xavi Hernández, the current Barcelona coach, however, has never been convinced by his performance. For this reason, during last season, 2022-23, he played on loan at Valencia and, this summer, he was transferred to Porto with whom this Wednesday the Blaugrana will face each other at the Do Dragao stadium in which it will be the second game for both teams in the Champions League group.

The sale of Nico was not initially contemplated. The desire of the sports management was to close a new loan, to avoid losing a player who was predicted to have a great future.. The delicate economic situation of the club, however, caused it to finally give in to the proposal of Porto, which paid 8.5 million euros for the transfer of the footballer.. Barça, yes, wanted to reserve both a percentage of a possible sale and a repurchase option, estimated in this case at 30 million euros and executable until June 30, 2025.. His landing in Portugal was seen by the player's entourage as a great opportunity to relaunch his career.. Above all, because his signing was fully endorsed by the current coach of the Dragons, Sergio Conceiçao who, apparently, has not had any problems imposing a forceful punishment on him for an error that caused his team to finally give up a draw at home against Arouca .

The memory of what could have been and his current delicate situation at Porto will surely cause Nico to experience a bittersweet reunion with Barça.. Since his marking mistake against Arouca, he has not played a single minute in a league match with his team.. Against Estrela Amadora, he was not even called up. Immediately afterwards, in the Champions League, in the match in which the Portuguese team beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-3 away from home, he was able to briefly jump onto the pitch. His conviction in the domestic championship, however, would be maintained against Gil Vicente and Benfica, two duels that he had to watch from start to finish from the bench. The Argentine Alan Varela, who also landed at the Portuguese club last summer, in his case from Boca Juniors, seems to be winning the game for now.

Nico is having to live the bitter side of a sport that, many times, creates and destroys idols at breakneck speed.. The other side of the coin, at this moment, could be embodied by another young Barça midfielder: Fermín López. After playing on loan at Linares last year, he had a more than remarkable preseason, which included a great goal against Real Madrid in a new classic in the United States, and, now, he is beginning to firmly establish himself in Xavi's plans. Against Sevilla, after coming onto the pitch as a replacement for the injured Raphinha, he emerged as one of the most notable for his desire and his audacity.. A performance that, in the end, could even lead him to ownership in Porto.