Barcelona have completed the signing of highly-rated Portuguese attacking midfielder Dany Freire, with the 16-year-old set to begin his journey at La Masia after impressing during his trial with the club.
Freire, who turned 16 on Saturday, passed his trial with Barcelona’s youth setup and has now signed his contract with the Catalan giants. The youngster had spent the summer training and featuring in friendly matches with the Juvenil B side, where his performances convinced the club to make the move permanent.
Softfootball believes the signing reflects Barcelona’s continued focus on identifying promising young talents who can develop within the club’s famous academy system. Freire previously played for Racing FC Union in Luxembourg and has represented Portugal at youth level. During his trial period, he scored three goals, earned an MVP award and impressed against strong opposition.
The youngster’s arrival comes at a particularly exciting time for Barcelona, with Hansi Flick’s first-team side producing another spectacular attacking display. Barcelona thrashed Racing Santander 7-2 at Camp Nou, with Raphinha scoring a stunning hat-trick to lead the rout. João Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus and Lamine Yamal were also on target, while Racing’s Asier Villalibre scored an own goal.
Raphinha scored twice before completing his hat-trick from the penalty spot, while Barcelona’s victory extended their perfect start to seven consecutive competitive wins under Flick. The result also moved the Catalan side to 18 points from six league matches.
With Freire now joining the academy setup, Barcelona will hope the Portuguese youngster can follow the pathway that has produced several first-team stars and eventually make his own mark at Camp Nou.
