FC Barcelona — a star factory

The Spanish giant is the world’s number one in developing talent. Its homegrown players are worth €307 million.

Real Madrid paid nearly €200 million for the star duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. The astronomical sums spent on buying new players have only increased the importance of developing homegrown talent. The Economic Daily looked at which big clubs from Europe’s top five leagues have gained the most from their youth academies — meaning, who has produced the most valuable players still wearing the shirt of the club where they grew up. The clear winner is the Catalan giant FC Barcelona, which has no fewer than thirteen players in its squad who came through the famous La Masia academy. According to transfermarkt.com, the total market value of the homegrown players in Barcelona’s first team is €307 million. That’s almost twice as much as second-placed Bayern Munich (€162 million) and third-placed Real Madrid (€119 million).

The foundation of success? Family
Barcelona’s latest league match confirmed its success in integrating homegrown players into top-level football. In their 6–1 weekend victory over Rayo Vallecano, as many as seven academy graduates were in the starting lineup. Alongside star regulars like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, and Gerard Pique, new faces such as Marc Bartra and Martin Montoya are increasingly making their mark. What is the secret of success for Barcelona’s youngsters, who in just a few years become some of the best footballers in the world? “The foundation is the family atmosphere at the club, where these young boys grow up together from an early age, not only on the pitch but also off it,” vice president of the official FC Barcelona fan club in Slovakia, Jozef Korbel, told the Economic Daily. Another factor is the club’s attacking style of play, unchanged for nearly half a century, based on perfect technique and short passing. “I like the club’s philosophy, which is why I’ve been an admirer of Barcelona for decades. The players are not arrogant, and even new stars — like Luis Suarez recently — are able to integrate quickly into the functioning team. But its core will always be made up of homegrown players,” Korbel says. Thanks to these close relationships, players can also overcome conflicts faster than in many other teams. “That family principle works here too — in Barcelona, problems disappear faster than, for example, in rival Real Madrid, where there are many personalities from different cultures who do not have the same connection to the club,” Korbel claims.

The sheikhs will have to wait
At the opposite end of the table of big clubs with the most homegrown players in the squad is England’s Manchester City, owned by Arab Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. While his almost unlimited financial resources have taken the team to the top of the English Premier League, there is currently not a single homegrown player in Manchester City’s squad. “In my opinion, such clubs are put together in a hurry. A team made up of bought mercenaries will not bring long-term success in the same way as when you build on homegrown players,” Korbel believes. Sports analyst and football agent Jozef Tokos agrees with his view. “La Masia is the most successful academy in the world, also thanks to Messi and other top players who have come through it. Young footballers identify with the club’s philosophy and have a clear goal ahead of them — to make it all the way to the first team,” says Tokos. Precisely because of their zero number of homegrown players, Manchester City’s management recently opened the most expensive and luxurious football academy in the world. The complex, named the Etihad Training Academy, cost the sheikh €280 million. However, it will still take several years before the academy produces its first top-class footballer for Manchester City. (...)