Carles Perez Hits Out at Barcelona's Youth Policy After Being Forced Out to Roma
By Ben Carter
Barcelona academy graduate Carles Pérez has hit out at Barcelona's youth policy after being forced out on loan to AS Roma.
The 22-year-old made 13 senior appearances for Barcelona before leaving the club last month, joining Roma in a short-term loan deal which includes an obligation to buy.
In his first interview since leaving Barcelona, Pérez has shed some light on how he was told he was leaving Camp Nou and said his dreams of playing regular first-team football at the club were taken away without any explanation.
"It's hard to explain why - I don't even know what happened," Pérez told Mundo Deportivo. "They have not given me the explanations they had to give me, at least the realistic ones. In Barça, you always want to win, but you no longer have patience with the youth players.
"I am a boy who has given everything for Barça since childhood. My dream was to reach the first team, I got it and now it was taken without reason."
Despite being forced out of his boyhood club, Pérez is already making quite an impact at Roma. He's made three substitute appearances in Serie A, and the 22-year-old scored his first goal for the Giallorossi in their Europa League win over Gent.
Pérez wasn't the only Barcelona youth player to be forced out during the January transfer window either, Abel Ruiz joining Portuguese side Braga in a loan move which will become permanent for £7.2m.
The 20-year-old striker also scored in the recent round of European fixtures, finding the back of the net for the first time in his senior career against Steven Gerrard's Rangers.
Barcelona's decision to slimline their squad has already come back to bite them too, as they needed special permission from the Spanish FA to sign Martin Braithwaite from La Liga rivals Leganes following a mini injury crisis.
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