Lost in the potential star power of a UEFA Youth League side that included Riqui Puig, Álex Collado and Iñaki Peña was its captain, Guillem Jaime. He may not project to have the ceiling of fellow right-backs Moussa Wagué or Juvenil A’s Mateu Morey, but the 19-year-old has been a mainstay at La Masia since the U-7s.
Born in nearby Torreforta, a district in the city of Tarragona on January 6, 1999, Guillem Jaime got his start at local club CDC Torreforta. Starting out his career as a winger and quickly jumping to La Masia at the U-7 level, Jaime has been an important player in so many of the most successful youth teams from the last ten years.
Not much has been written of a player that has always been a significant piece of his youth teams, whether as a goal-scoring winger for Juvenil B or as a defensive right-back with Barcelona B, he seems to fly under the radar while at times having the captain’s armband.
Along with a number of his aforementioned teammates, Jaime got some attention after Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Chelsea in the UEFA Youth League final. He came off the bench and played the final ten minutes, assisting on Abel Ruiz’s goal and putting the exclamation point on the dominant win.
While he has played as a winger for a considerable part of his youth, he profiles as a right-back as a professional. Like many of his compatriots in that UEFA Youth League winning squad, he renewed his contract with the club over the summer, a contract that keeps him at the club until 2020 with an option for two additional years and a new release clause of 100 million euros.
Starting the season with Barcelona B, it was expected that Wagué and Morey would be the top options at the right-back position after Sergi Palencia headed to Bordeaux, but long-term injuries to both the newcomer and the Juvenil A player have left Jaime as the starter and Dani Morer as the back-up.
Jaime started the season with an injury of his own, suffering a nasal fracture in preseason and missing the opening match of the Segunda División B against CD Alcoyano. While forced into wearing a mask, he was already on the bench for the next match against SD Ejea and got the start in the following game against CE Sabadell. He has split his time between Barcelona B and the UEFA Youth League squad so far this season, making nine appearances and getting the start in eight of them.
His international football career has been limited to three appearances for the Spain U-16s, playing in three friendlies between December of 2014 and February of 2015. If his profile continues its gradual growth, a few more youth appearances could be in his future.
