Marc Casadó was born on the 14th of September 2003, in a small village called Sant Pere de Vilamajor located in Catalonia. Marc started playing football at the age of 6. Passing through the youth ranks of local clubs like CF Vilamajor, Sant Celoni, and Granollers. Then, he joined a famous Catalonian youth club CF Damm. He quickly caught the eyes of many youth scouts. And in 2016 he joined La Masia while starting at Infantil A level.
After joining Barcelona, coaches noticed two main attributes in Marc. His leadership and intelligence. Soon after joining he became the captain of youth teams up to Juvenil A. Even when he reached Barça Atlètic, he was made as one of the captains of the team. Casadó was often seen approaching coaches to ask questions or look for advice. In 2021, he did pre-season with Barcelona B despite being a regular with Juvenil B and in the 21/22 season he became a regular with Juvenil A. Becoming one of the most important players in the team, playing the most minutes – 2896. Moreover, he also captained the team to the League and Copa Campeones titles, winning a double.
In 2022, Marc renewed his contract until 2024 with an optional year, getting promoted to Barça Atlètic. But soon enough he was called up for pre-season with the first team together with his teammate Chadi Riad. Marc Casadó was able to impress Xavi enough for him to give minutes during the summer tour with the first team. In October of 2022, Marc received his first official call-up to La Liga, however he was not able to make his debut that day, but he remained in the dynamics of the first team. Before making his official Barcelona in the Champions League game against Viktoria Plzeň, playing 23 minutes.
Playing style
Similar player: Joshua Kimmich
Marc Casadó is a right-footed midfielder, that mainly plays as a defensive midfielder. However, also being quite a versatile player that is capable of playing as a right-back and a centre-back. The Spanish midfielder is well known for his leadership qualities, which can be even seen during the games. He instructs not only the defenders but also the midfielders. Marc is a player that positions himself perfectly during different scenario. He understands the game very well, showcasing his high football IQ. He uses his body, not only before receiving the ball, but also while shielding it, during a half turn which gives him a big advantage of taking the ball forward.
Casadó has great passing ability, but prefers to play with short passes and tends to recycle possession. One of the biggest things he can improve on is to be riskier and more creative with his passes. He has the ability but tends to play on a safer side. And only on rare occasions, we can see through balls or long balls to wingers, that give a 1v1 advantage to the attackers. While still playing safe, Marc is capable of breaking lines with his passin. And quite often, he’s able to execute those passes, whenever he’s sure of them.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Marc is a player that tends to scan a lot before and after receiving the ball. Combining this great awareness and being calm with the ball under his feet, while under pressure, makes him a perfect press-resistant pivot for Barcelona. Defensively Casadó is a player that can work on his 1v1 duels, but thanks to his extraordinary positioning and tackling ability, he doesn’t look vulnerable defensively, while winning quite a few numbers of recoveries throughout a game.
Marc Casadó has another weakness he should work on. He rarely tends to make progressive runs, despite having the ability to do so. Having great vision, work rate and decent recovery pace, Marc Casadó is a very interesting profile that can be useful for Barcelona in the near future.
Future at the club
Marc has disappeared from first team dynamics, however, became an important piece of Rafa Marquez’s team, playing a crucial role for the subsidiary. With him being able to play as a right-back and Bellerin leaving the club, Marc could be an option to replace him, especially with Julian Araujo deal collapsing on the deadline day. Being versatile and an interesting mix of a ball-winning and deep-lying orchestrator type of a midfielder, he could be an interesting option for Xavi to use.
Potential Rating: 8.5/10
