Qaroual joined Barcelona in 2023 after impressing recruiters during a trial, quickly making a name for himself within the club's youth ranks. His technical quality and dribbling ability drew attention well beyond his age group, with clips of his skills gaining significant traction on social media and helping establish him as one of the standout names of his generation at the club.
His departure comes amid a broader summer overhaul of Barcelona's academy structure, which has seen the club focus heavily on arrivals, renewals and long-term planning across its various youth sides.
Despite the early promise, Sport reports that the winger endured a difficult few years at La Masia and never felt fully supported by the club during that time.
After lengthy consideration, his family has now decided to move on and begin a new chapter elsewhere, though no decision has yet been made on his next destination. Several Spanish and international clubs are said to have already registered their interest.
Born in Mönchengladbach, Qaroual previously played for Borussia Mönchengladbach and PSV Eindhoven before joining Barcelona. Eligible to represent Germany, Morocco or Spain at international level given his family background, his versatility on the pitch has long been matched by a broad set of options off it.
His exit brings an end to a three-year spell at La Masia that had once appeared to be shaping up as one of the academy's next great success stories, much to the disappointment of supporters who saw him as a potential future star of Catalan football, with some comparisons to past Barcelona greats reflecting the level of hype that had built around him at such a young age.
Qaroual, whose family has been guided by agent Jorge Mendes in weighing up his options, will now take time to identify the project best suited to his continued development before committing to a new club.