FC Barcelona’s American ‘Pearl’ Compared To Andres Iniesta

Youth academy star Adrian Gill put pen to paper on a three-year deal on Friday and announced that he was “extremely proud” to sign his “first professional contract with FC Barcelona” on Instagram while the club also shared photos of the youngster and his father with Joan Soler and Jose Ramon Alexanco.

But who is the 16-year-old US-born Cadet who dons the number ‘8’ shirt in La Masia and for this has naturally been compared to all-time great Andres Iniesta?

Gill was born in Denver, Colorado on January 6th, 2006, but moved to Catalonia with his parents due to them finding work in the region.

Starting to play with local club UE Cornella which Jordi Alba once graced and resurrected his career at after being released by La Masia, Gill made the U-11 Alevin A team in 2017 and was spotted by Barca just a year later when they scouted him and put him in the Infantil B side.

Gill is currently in his fourth season with the Blaugrana and has not stopped improving while being one of the biggest promises in their current Cadet A outfit.

Sport describe him as a “complete footballer” and an offensive midfielder who is multi-faceted from a “technical, physical and tactical point of view”.

They say that Gill “covers a lot of ground” with a wide stride and boasts excellent vision to make the last pass before the ball goes in the back of the net.

In charge of free kicks and corners that run through his powerful right leg, he is also capable of using his left with one of his strongest qualities his ability to recover balls all over the pitch.

Gill has already caught the attention of the US men’s national team’s youth categories such as the U-17s and in this way is set to follow in the footsteps of fellow Barca youth star and American Diego Kochen who in January was invited to USMNT training camps.

Next season, Gill is set to progress to the Juvenil category that provides the last step between the academy and either the senior first team or its B reserve counterpart.