Marc Bartra

Barcelona

Born in Sant Jaume dels Domenys, Tarragona, Catalonia, Bartra joined Espanyol as a child before moving to Barcelona's youth system, La Masia, at age 11. After progressing through its ranks, he was promoted to the B side in 2009.

Bartra made his first-team debut on 14 February 2010, coming on as a substitute for Jeffrén Suárez for the final 30 minutes of a 2–1 loss to Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderón Stadium. He started his first La Liga game one year and three months later, playing the entire 0–0 home draw against Deportivo de La Coruña, and scored his first goal on 21 May 2011 to help them come from behind to win 3–1 at Málaga in the season's last round.

In the 2012–13 campaign, Bartra joined the first team squad permanently, but manager Tito Vilanova tended to field Javier Mascherano, Alex Song and Adriano ahead of him, and only appeared in 16 matches in all competitions. He signed a new three-year contract in March 2014.

On 16 April 2014, in the final of the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid, with five minutes remaining, Gareth Bale outsprinted Bartra from the halfway line – with the former running off the field at one point – before scoring the 2–1 winner. He himself had levelled the score midway into the second half from a Xavi corner kick.

Bartra remained a third or fourth choice under new manager Luis Enrique. He made 25 appearances and scored once as the team won the treble in 2014–15.