Barcelona Academy receives special attention from coach Hans Flick since his arrival to lead the Catalan team two years ago, as the first team now boasts many players promoted from La Masia.
Brian Fariñas has become the latest La Masia graduate promoted to Barcelona's first team, with the Blaugrana officially announcing this in recent hours.
Barcelona's official account on the "X" platform confirmed that Fariñas, who plays as a midfielder, has been registered as a first-team player and will wear number "4".
The player Brian Fariñas is now registered as a first-team player and will wear the number 4. 👏💙❤ pic.twitter.com/SUmUmve4EY — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 1, 2026@FCBarcelona
The newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" reported that Flick halted Fariñas' transfer to Girona, where the latter was close to signing the young player for €1.5 million, with Barcelona retaining 50% of his rights.
It added that Fariñas' situation changed from being a player set to leave Barcelona due to lack of space in the first team, to one officially promoted wearing number 4, previously worn by Ronald Araújo.
Araújo left Barcelona during the last summer transfer window and joined Liverpool on loan until the end of the season, with an option for the English club to make the move permanent for €55 million.
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It clarified that Fariñas joined Barcelona's youth setup in 2018 coming from Villarreal, and was a key player in the youth team that won the UEFA Youth League in 2024, featuring prominently in midfield.
Mundo Deportivo added that Fariñas can also play as an attacking midfielder, while Flick initially preferred promoting Tomi Márquez to the first team before the latter departed to Sporting Braga this summer.
It continued that Fariñas impressed Flick during the preparation period, can also play as a right-back, possesses strong long-range shooting ability and excellent vision on the field, along with good relationships with other Barcelona players like Lamine Yamal.
Fariñas will represent an addition to Barcelona's midfield, which currently includes seven players. Playing time in the defensive midfield position will be shared between Rodri and Marc Bernal, while Pedri, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, and Xavi Espart (who previously played in this role alongside both right and left back positions) operate as central midfielders. Fariñas can efficiently play as a central midfielder.
Mundo Deportivo confirmed that Flick is highly impressed with Fariñas' abilities, regretting that the latter hasn't received playing minutes like Hamza Abdulkarim due to the abundance of options available.