The market hasn't officially kicked off yet, but we've already seen the first summer trend: footballers who one day dreamed of playing for Barça and the next day sign for Real Madrid. Yes, José Mourinho, the antichrist of the pointed finger and insatiable provocations, is capable of convincing children forged in the Barça academy or Portuguese players perfected under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola without any resistance. With his rhetoric and, above all, with a good bag of money from the wounded Florentino Pérez, he works magic with a single call. Between the persistent little song of Bernardo Silva or the return of Marc Cucurella, however, what will hurt Barça the most will be seeing the full-back from Alella dressed in white. It's easy to ask yourself: “How did we let this happen?” The answer is simple: neither now nor ever has he felt that Barça truly wanted him.

The signing of Marc Cucurella by Real Madrid has not only caused a stir due to his past as a Barcelona player, but it has also brought to light a list with so few names that it has only increased on two occasions in the last two decades. While it is true that we find notable cases of footballers who, in their professional careers, have worn both the Barça and the white team's jersey – Zamora, Schuster, Hagi, Lopetegui, Prosinecki, Laudrup, Figo, Luis Enrique, Alfonso Pérez, Ronaldo Nazário, Eto'o, Saviola, and Marcos Alonso–, the list of players raised at La Masia who have become professionals for the white team is shorter.

Florentino Pérez is not wasting time since he was re-elected president of Real Madrid. In just one week, the leader has made his mark on the transfer market. Besides signing José Mourinho as the new coach, he has also secured the arrival of defenders Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries. But, above all, he has stuck his nose into Barça's plan to boycott him or, directly, take away the reinforcements he had in his sights. In just seven days, he has set out to increase the price of Julián Álvarez, has convinced Bernardo Silva with a hefty sum, and has finally managed to sign Marc Cucurella, a product of La Masia.