Spanish newspaper "Sport" reported that scouts from Barcelona have not erred in their recommendation to sign Colombian striker Naiser Villarreal, who recently excelled in the Under-20 World Cup, scoring a hat-trick that led Colombia to a 3-2 victory over Spain in the quarter-finals.

Barcelona had negotiated with the player during the first half of 2025, as the 20-year-old striker showcased exceptional performance in the South American Under-20 Championship with the Colombian national team, scoring eight goals and providing four assists, before deciding to move to Brazilian club Cruzeiro as a free agent on a contract that extends until December 2030.

The Colombian star's performances are characterized by physical strength, speed, and goal-scoring ability, which was evident in the quarter-final match against Spain, where he has scored five goals in the tournament so far, matching American Benjamin Cremaschi, with a personal goal of becoming the tournament's top scorer to help Colombia clinch the title, despite missing the semi-final against Argentina due to accumulated yellow cards.

The monitoring of this striker confirms that Barcelona's strategy of discovering early talents around the world remains successful, according to the Spanish newspaper "Sport", although deals may be affected by financial or other sporting factors.