Mateu Morey Reportedly Set to Leave Barcelona's La Masia Academy for Bayern

Barcelona appear set to lose out on yet another La Masia starlet with Mateu Morey reportedly about to join Bayern Munich. 

According to RAC 1's Gerard Romero (h/t Sport's Albert Roge), Bayern will snap up the 17-year-old for €3 million after he opted to join them rather than play for the Juvenil A team next year upon stepping up from the Juvenil B side, with whom he has played the last two seasons.

Per Roge, the news follows Eric Garcia's departure for Manchester City on Tuesday and just a week on from Jordi Mboula joining Monaco.

Morey showed himself to be an exciting young prospect as he helped Spain win the UEFA Under-17 Championship last month, per Scouted Football:

BeIN Sports' David Cartlidge remarked on the potential Morey is expected to have and how hard Barcelona fought to sign him as a youngster:

The Blaugrana have long had a reputation for producing exceptional talent in their La Masia academy, with current stars Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta among those to come through it.

However, fewer players seem to have come through in recent years, with Barca turning to the transfer market rather than promoting from within.

Thiago Alcantara is one of the most egregious examples of recent times after being allowed to join Bayern and blossom there, while the likes of Alen Halilovic, Gerard Deulofeu, Marc Bartra and Sandro Ramirez have all departed in the last two seasons alone.

Football journalist Rafael Hernandez believes the academy is in real decline:

Grup 14's Diana Kristinne believes that while there is an issue in players making the step up to the first team, the problems have been largely exaggerated:

Barca have perhaps been a victim of their own success in recent times.

With senior squads brimming with world-class talent in almost every position, it's extremely difficult for youngsters to break through, not to mention the demands of silverware each season can make it far more tempting to buy a player who is already proven at a senior level than invest time embedding a young player in the team.

Several players offloaded by Barca as youngsters have come back to the Camp Nou and enjoyed success, including Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique and Denis Suarez, so there may yet be hope of seeing Morey or Garcia turn out for their first team at some point.

However, the situation is hardly ideal, particularly when Barca don't have the same financial might as some of their rivals.  

Barcelona's academy is intrinsically linked to their identity, and they can ill afford to lose it.