Bojan Krkic
In 2007, the tiny winger broke Leo's record as the youngest Barca player to make a La Liga debut, aged 17 years and 19 days. He would go on to score 12 goals in his debut season in all competitions.
What happened to him
Bojan averaged 11 goals per season in his 3 first years at Barca first team but the 2010-2011 campaign sealed his fate: the winger managed just 7 goals in 37 games, starting 17 times.
He left in 2011 and played for 7 different clubs since then. The 30-year-old is without a club after terminating his contract with Montreal Impact this January.
Why it went wrong for him
Bojan has mentioned several times he was unable to handle the pressure and the big expectations. He confessed to suffering from serious anxiety problems.
Enjoy Bojan's best moments in La Liga:
Javier Saviola
Saviola joined Barca from River Plate in 2001 for the whopping €35.90m after winning the American Footballer of the Year award and breaking Diego Maradona's record as the youngest player to win the Golden Boot in the Argentine league.
Aged just 19, Saviola made quite an entrance to the Catalan club, scoring 21 goals in his debut season.
In total, the versatile attacker managed 72 goals in 172 games for Barca
What happened to him
In 2004, Saviola joined Monaco on loan, followed by another loan move to Sevilla the next year. In 2007, the Argentine joined Real Madrid for free and spent 2 years at Barca's arch-rivals.
He retired at his boyhood club River Plate in 2016, aged just 34.
Why it went wrong
Saviola had a tensed relationship with Frank Rijkaard who joined the club in the middle of the 2003-2004 season. The Dutch coach clearly preferred countryman Patrick Kluivert to the Argentine forcing him to leave after the season ended.
Ricardo Quaresma
Quaresma didn't even turn 20 when he joined Barca for €6.35m in July 2003. The winger was hailed for his dribbling and shooting skills. Yet he failed to deliver, managing 1 goal, 2 assists and 1 red card in 28 games for the Catalans.
What happened to him
Quaresma left Barca for Porto in 2004, managing just 1 year at Camp Nou. He also featured for Inter and Chelsea but failed to leave a mark.
The winger fared much better during his 2 spells at Porto and, most recently, at Besiktas. Between 2015 and 2019, he scored 38 goals in 227 appearances for the Turkish giants.
The 37-year-old is plying his trade for Portuguese top side Vitoria Guimaraes this season, scoring twice in 18 games.
Why it went wrong
Just like Saviola, Quaresma didn't get on well with Rijkaard, publicly stating he wouldn't stay at the club if the Dutchman remained the coach.
The Portuguese failed to make it at Inter in 2008 as Jose Mourinho publicly urged him to improve his discipline. Quaresma's six-month loan spell at Chelsea the following year was simply a disaster: he featured just 5 times.
Giovani dos Santos
Dos Santos joined the Barcelona academy in 2002, aged just 13. He enjoyed his time at La Masia, winning the league in his debut season with the Juvenil A team.
Despite his achievements with the youngsters, the forward didn't make his first-team debut until 2007, aged 18.
Back then, Dos Santos was included among the most included teens in football. He went on to score 4 goals in 38 games in his sole season for the senior team.
What happened to him
The Mexico international left Barca for Tottenham in 2008, searching for more playing time. He changed 7 different clubs in 11 years, failing to leave a mark in Europe. Dos Santos' best spell came at the LA Galaxy when he scored 28 goals in 88 games.
He is currently in his second season at Club America in his home country, scoring 3 goals in 38 games.
Why it went wrong
There was no place for Dos Santos in the star-studded Barca attack in the 2007-2008 season: the club just signed Thierry Henry and promoted Bojan Krkic and Pedro. Ronaldinho, Deco, Samuel Eto'o and a certain Leo Messi were all there as well.
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