The Malian nugget Ibrahim Diarra is already a hit

Remember, almost two years ago, we revealed to you that FC Barcelona was on the way to achieving a very big blow by chewing the Malian nugget Ibrahim Diarra. Only 16 years old at the time, he had driven on the U17 World Cup with Mali. Captain of the Aiglonnets, he had largely contributed to 3rd place in his team. He had finished, by far, the most decisive player with 5 goals and 4 assists in 7 small games. What hit the eye of FC Barcelona at the time which had observed it many times.

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Trained on the side of the Africa Foot Academy in Mali, the winger had even received a visit from a Barcelona delegation made up of the Catalan club managers. Nicknamed Kàka in the country for its explosive style of play and its ability to eliminate its opponents, Ibrahim Diarra had reached an agreement to reach the Blaugranas majority in December 2024 against 2.5 million euros. A fortune for the Malian Academy. The plan was then to integrate it first into the reserve team before gradually raising it with the Barça first team. A few weeks ago, so he landed in Spain.

Bluffing during the Youth League final

Arrived on tiptoe, it was not long in showing why he is considered one of the biggest cracks of his generation and why he had been summoned with selection A of Mali at only 15 years old. In a few weeks, he won in the eleven holder of the reserve team trained by Juliano Belletti, former club player and considered a coach with enormous potential. He was able to show his talent in Youth League. Replacing during his beginnings, he only needed 20 minutes in the final and quarter -finals to convince his coach to start in attack.

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And he made the confidence granted very well. During the final won by his team, he planted a double and issued a decisive pass. An XXL performance which logically allowed him to be elected man of the match. In the eyes of many recruiters, Ibrahim Diarra showed the full extent of his talent after opening his counter with Juvenil was earlier in the month. “He has the capacity to be a free electron without ever getting out of the collective framework. This is what makes the big ones ”explained Belletti about him. Excellent dribbler, fast and above all very fair in the last meters, the young Malian is a small phenomenon that could quickly show his head in team A …