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De La Fuente makes senior debut in Barcelona friendly

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Konrad De la Fuente has gotten the opportunity to train with Barcelona’s first team this summer and was rewarded with his first team debut on Saturday.

De La Fuente came off the bench Saturday to make his senior debut for the La Liga side in a 3-1 friendly win over Gimnastic. The winger became the first American player to feature for the European giants and will now look to carry that into the new La Liga season.

The 19-year-old came off the bench to start the second half and played 45 minutes in the victory. He even scored a goal in his cameo off the bench, but it was late ruled offsides leaving De La Fuente waiting to celebrate his first goal for the club.

De Le Fuente has risen through the ranks with Barcelona over the last few seasons and even dressed in the UEFA Champions League earlier this summer. The U.S. Men’s National Team prospect made 11 combined appearances for Barcelona B and the U-19 team last season, scoring six goals and registering one assist.

He also signed a new contract with the club as well in June, keeping him locked up until June 2022. Hertha Berlin was reportedly in the mix for his services earlier this summer, but a move never came to fruition.

“I am very happy to stay at the best club in the world,” De La Fuente said back in June. “It has always been my dream to play for the first team, and that is why I want to stay here – to try to achieve it.”

It is undecided if De La Fuente will stay with Barcelona for the upcoming season as Ronald Koeman takes over as manager. The Catalan side opens its new season on Sept. 16th at the Camp Nou against Girona.

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