Paco Alcacer's perfomance has put a smile back on his face

Paco Alcacer's seven goals with Borussia Dortmund and three strikes with Spain have put a smile back on his face, with the forward enjoying his football again now that he has moved on from Barcelona.

Following his 2016 move from Valencia to the Camp Nou, he made 50 appearances, just 22 of them as a starter.

In the league, he played little over 1,500 minutes across the two seasons he was there, with his two years as a benchwarmer stalling what had looked like such a promising career.

His lack of playing time in Catalonia had seen him left out of Spain call-ups since March of 2016 and ultimately convinced him to leave for pastures new in the past summer.

"I left Barcelona because I wanted to be happy when playing football," he said just a few days ago.

His case is not the only one, as there are other examples of players' careers stalling because of a severe lack of playing time at Barcelona.

Thiago Alcantara was another one and he echoed Alcacer's comments, as were Thiago Motta and Cristian Tello.

Like Tello, Marc Bartra also struggled for playing time at the Camp Nou and also ultimately made his way to Betis, passing through Dortmund like Alcacer has.

Like Alcacer, this has helped him to prove himself as a player worthy of selection for the national team.

It's not just outfielders who have had to depart to find their comfort zone, with the likes of Oier Olazabal and Jordi Masip now starters in LaLiga Santander at other clubs.