Former Barcelona B & Argentina youth star Rolon dies in car accident

Former Barcelona B and Argentina Under-20 winger Maxi Rolon has died at the age of 27 following a car accident, the Catalans confirmed on Saturday.

Rolon moved up through Barca's youth ranks and represented the club's second team before moving on to several clubs in South America and the Middle East.

He also played for Argentina in the 2015 Under-20 South American Championship triumph and subsequent World Cup alongside brother Leonardo, who is currently at Chile's Deportes Iquique.

Barca pay tribute to Rolon

According to police reports in Argentina, Rolon was travelling with elder brother Ariel close to Casilda, Santa Fe province early on Saturday morning when their vehicle came off the road and hit a tree.

Both Maxi and Ariel, who were playing in the regional Liga Casildense tournament - which suspended its Sunday fixtures - passed away from the injuries they sustained in the incident.

"We are shaken by the death of Maxi Rolon (born in 1995), youth player at FC Barcelona between 2010 and 2016," Barcelona affirmed in a statement published on Twitter.

"We express our deepest sympathies and total support for his family. Rest in peace."

Rolon played 24 times for Barcelona's B team, scoring two goals.

After cutting ties with the Catalans in 2017 he went on to play for Brazilian giants Santos before moving back to Spain with Lugo, while his career also took him to clubs in his native Argentina, Ecuador and Chile as well as Iraq, where he represented Al Diwaniya.