Media attention, radio interviews and controversy are already surrounding this name: Adrià Bernabé.

As if the “best Alevin A side in history” was not enough, Barça went out in the summer of 2013 and “stole” Bernabé, the best U-12 midfielder and maybe best player in Spain, from none other than city rivals Espanyol.

Bernabé was voted MVP in almost every youth tournament in which he played in 2012/13, even against talented competitors such as Kubo and Ansu. Last season, his first at Barça, he complemented Ansu, Kubo and Adrià Altimira in attack while adding a stylish, flamboyant attitude to the Infantil B midfield. He is the signing of the summer at La Masia.

He first showed glimpses of his talent at his childhood club, Levante Las Palmas in the small town of Sant Joan Despi in Barcelona, where he started playing football at age 5. When Bernabé was 6, Espanyol snatched him up, retaining him for five years until Barça knocked on the door this summer. Barça had been watching him for years, and decided that Bernabé was the most important player to sign.

The timing of the transfer is reminiscent of the way Iniesta was plucked from Albacete. The two players share similar traits at the same age: elegance in style of play, dominance in Spanish youth football and same immediate importance to an already strong Alevin A/Infantil B.

Controversy

When Barça seized this gem, Espanyol’s president Joan Collet was displeased and threatened to take legal action. Instead of suing or reporting the club to FIFA, Collet imposed strict regulations on his club regarding youth contracts and scouting. In other words, he said that he would give all of Espanyol’s biggest talents a contract that contained an anti-Barça clause.

It was easy to understand why Collet was so angry. Bernabé had been with Espanyol for five years, and captained the club’s sublime Alevín A side in 2012/13, a team that beat Barça a couple of times in some friendly tournaments and was inches away from winning the league title ahead of Barça.

For weeks, the entire Catalunyan football world was stirred up about this boy after a club president displayed his anger in public. What was all the fuss about? Was he really that good?

Dominating Spain

Not only was Bernabé captain at Espanyol for many years, and the source of all the success that the club’s 2001 generation enjoyed until he left, he was also the main machine of the Catalan national team that won the U-12 Spain inter-region championship in 2014, beating Logroño in the semifinals and Andalucía in the final.

Last season at Barça has left little question about his abilities. Arriving with a very big reputation, Bernabé was assigned to Marcel Sans’ Infantil B side, which already featured prospects such as Kubo, Ansu Fati and the imposing center back and captain, Eric Garcia. Yet Bernabé still managed to stand out, and impress in preseason.

Having left Espanyol with the MVP trophy of the Danone Nations Cup (his team lost to Levante in the final), Bernabé kicked off his Blaugrana career in similar fashion, winning the Miranda de Ebro tournament with Infantil B after the team beat Real Madrid in the final. Bernabé was voted the tournament’s MVP.

Doing extremely well so far after being asked to play several positions in his time at La Masia, Bernabé has integrated into the club and its playing style very quickly. This is remarkable when you consider he is still a youth player. There are many things that you have to do perfectly if you want to be a midfielder in La Masia or develop into a first-team prospect. Bernabé does all of these things, while adding a bit of magic and flair that make him special. With a left foot that can set the world alight and a right foot that has room for improvement, he provides assists and scores goals with consistency. In his first three matches with Barça in the Futbol11 championship, Bernabé scored three goals.

People in Spain are saying that watching him play in a midfield with Guille Amor, Nico González and Miguel Vega is something spectacular. But the 2001 generation is outstanding overall, not only at Barça but in Spanish football as a whole. Bernabé has all the ingredients to become a prototypical Barça midfielder and with his leadership abilities, it will be surprising if he is not a star in 15 years, or perhaps sooner. He is a wonder kid who could one day become a maestro.