On Thursday, Barcelona announced the departures of five players this summer. Víctor Barberá, Òscar Ureña, and Emilio Bernad all see their contracts expire after featuring for Barça Atlètic this season, as does Ander Astralaga, who spent the season on loan with Granada CF in the Segunda División. Joaquín Delgado, who also played with Barça Atlètic, will return to Real Oviedo after his loan.
This isn't the first time that Barberá has left Barcelona on a free transfer. He first left the club in 2023 after progressing through the club's academy. The young striker followed in the path of another former Barça academy star, Ferran Jutglà, by joining Club Brugge. However, he found it hard to break through in Belgium. After playing just seven games for the Club Brugge first team, Barberá elected to return to Barcelona after just one season.
Injuries limited him to just 24 appearances over the next two seasons. He made an impact when he played, scoring 9 goals in 14 games this season and finishing as Barça Atlètic's top scorer. Still, Barberá is now 21, and Barcelona has other promising, young, and healthy options up top, including Hamza Abdelkarim, who is impressing for Egypt at the World Cup. Barberà will have to rebuild his career elsewhere in Spain and has been linked with Segunda División clubs.
Barberá is not the only potentially Segunda-bound striker. Joaquín Delgado joined midseason on loan from the Real Oviedo reserves and showed promise, finishing the season with seven goals. However, Barcelona decided not to make the 24-year-old forward's loan permanent, and he returns to a Real Oviedo side that was relegated from the top flight. He may get a chance in the first team as the Asturian side looks to return to La Liga.
Delgado, along with Òscar Ureña, 23, and goalkeeper Emilio Bernad, 26, was one of the oldest players in the Barça Atlètic squad this season. Bernad joined last summer from CD Teruel, and he was largely signed for his experience and depth. He played sporadically, making fourteen appearances. He conceded 17 goals in that span and was a backup to Diego Kochen.
Ureña, a winger, joined from La Liga side Girona in 2024. He was sidelined for the majority of his first season with the club due to injuries. He returned to score eight goals this season, although once again dealt with injuries and missed a large portion of the season with a broken collarbone. Ureña did become a Dominican Republic international last October and has shown flashes, but considering his age and his injury record, it makes sense for Barcelona to move on.
Goalkeeper Ander Astralaga, who joined the club in 2018 at the age of 14, did not spend last season with Barça Atlètic, as he was loaned to Granada. He made 18 appearances in all competitions last season, ending the season as the starter after Algeria and ex-La Fábrica star Luca Zidane suffered an injury. While Astralaga, too, showed potential, he is not going to drop down to the fourth tier to play for Barça Atlètic, and the club has other promising goalkeeper prospects.
Astralaga, 22, still has a promising career ahead of him, and will undoubtedly have many suitors this summer. This will likely not be the last time Barcelona fans hear about him, as several ex-academy goalkeepers have carved out strong careers outside of Catalunya, such as André Onana and Josep Martínez.
Barça Atlètic will have a busy summer, per usual, as the team looks to replace the stars who have exited. However, for every exit, there is an opportunity for a promising young talent to take over. The likes of Delgado and Barberá may be missed in the short-term for Barça Atlètic on the pitch, but if there's one thing Barcelona is known for, it's discovering new young talent.
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