Four players from the European champions featured on the NXGN 2025 list, with the club able to draw youngsters from around the globe to Catalunya
Barcelona have always been good at progressing homegrown talent through the youth set-up and into the first team, on both the men’s and women’s side. Walk into the club’s academy and a photograph of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi as the top three players in the Ballon d’Or voting in 2010 is blown up on one wall, serving as an emphatic statement regarding the quality the Catalans have helped to develop. Aitana Bonmati, winner of the last two Ballons d’Or Feminin, is among the most notable alumni on the women’s side and, since 2021, there are now female residents living in Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, which succeeded the old La Masia building in 2011, who are aiming to follow in the footsteps of those now icons in Catalunya.
Many of the women who have progressed through Barca’s youth teams and become stars at the very highest level are either from the local area or from other regions in Spain. Bonmati, Claudia Pina and Ona Batlle are examples of players to tick that first box, while Vicky Lopez, the NXGN 2025 women's winner, was signed from Madrid CFF as a 16-year-old and saw her development aided by the club’s youth set-up, playing a lot of football for the B team in her first year in particular.
However, in recent times, Barca has started to look even further afield and recruit the best young talent in the world. Indeed, Lopez is one of four players to represent the club on this year’s NXGN list, alongside Poland's Emilia Szymczak, Italy's Giulia Dragoni and Switzerland's Sydney Schertenleib.
This is not uncommon in the men’s game. Look at the nationalities represented in the academies of the sport’s biggest clubs and you will be greeted by an eclectic array of flags. In the women’s game, though, it’s something new and something that Barcelona are leading the way with.
Getty ImagesGoing global
Jonatan Giraldez, head coach of Barcelona’s women’s team between 2021 and 2024 and assistant to Lluis Cortes for the two seasons prior, was at the club as this plan started to really come together. Externally, this became apparent in the summer of 2023 in particular, as a whole host of talents from abroad, including Dragoni, Szymczak, Onyeka Gamero from the U.S. and Martine Fenger from Norway, signed for the club.
“For me, it is one of the keys in the process when you are working with young players, that you are not just analysing what is happening in Spain. [If so], you are missing a lot of players,” Giraldez, now head coach of the Washington Spirit, tells GOAL. “You have the opportunity to bring players from other countries, and also having La Masia there, I think it's an important point to develop the performance of the player.
“When I was working there, we believed a lot in the academy. All the players who were coming [from] outside [were] not just to play in the first team. It’s to develop their performance in Barca's style. Obviously, I think it's a good idea and Barca will keep doing that because you need to detect the young talent, especially from foreign countries, to make sure that they can develop with you.
“It's normal in the men's teams,” he adds. “But women's soccer is getting larger. For me, it is completely normal. You need to identify the talent. When you have professional staff in your club, 'Okay, let's do it bigger to make sure that we are analysing and detecting the young talent around the world'. I think it's something that makes sense, especially in the last years, because right now, professional teams are investing in staff, but we need to keep investing also in the scouts.”
AdvertisementGetty ImagesExtremely attractive prospect
That scouting has to be particularly good at Barcelona, given how specific the club’s style is. Be they a young prospect or an established senior star, not every player can adapt to the Barca way and thrive. It’s up to the scouting team to identify talents with the traits to succeed in Catalunya.
When it comes to the youth set-up, there is also the need to accurately assess the potential of players. Barcelona’s first team is of the highest level, winning the last two Women’s Champions League titles. Yet, the club is committed to having a clear plan into the senior side for all its prospects, rather than just stockpiling the best young players around.
That’s a big reason why many are lured to Barcelona’s youth set-up. That might sound strange, because it is a hugely successful club that most would be keen to join, right? But there are a lot of top sides in Europe, and beyond, with a growing focus on young talent, while many players will be keen to know there is a plan for them to get into the first team, rather than just being on a hamster wheel of loans before eventually having to move on to pastures new after failing to break through.
Jens Wenzl represents some of Barca’s top senior stars, such as Caroline Graham Hansen and Ingrid Engen, and also has players in the club’s academy. One of those is Fenger, who was playing senior football in Norway before choosing to move to Barca and progress through its youth set-up. The decision to make that move was underpinned by the “football education” one receives at La Masia, Wenzl explains to GOAL.
Getty ImagesUnrivalled
Another huge element in the Barcelona package is the residence it can offer, which is unmatched in the women’s game. There are a lot of FIFA requirements that clubs must meet when signing players under the age of 18, and Barca are able to tick those boxes thanks to an academy which has housed female players since 2021, having been a place for them to train, rather than live, prior to that. Some clubs are trying to do similar, but don’t have as great a facility as this just yet, giving Barca a notable advantage right now.
There is a community within this youth set-up, too, one that certainly helps those settling into a new environment away from their families and, in some cases, their home countries. It means no one is alone, that they are surrounded by others in similar situations and this can all make it easier to adjust to the off-field challenges, which can certainly have an on-pitch impact.
Getty ImagesPlenty of communication
As for the football, Barcelona’s strong structure pays dividends in its development of youth. Above the various underage teams, there is a C team and a B team, both of which won their league titles in the 2023-24 season. The existence of these sides gives young players a chance to compete in the senior game while still learning the Barca way.
The B team in particular is a great litmus test for prospects. It plays in the second-tier in Spain, a strong level, and has offered the likes of Lopez and Schertenleib the stepping stone they’ve needed to then make the jump into the first team. It’s no wonder foreign clubs have started to scout the B team, too.
“The communication between first team and second team is very good, very open,” Giraldez, who handed Lopez her Barca debut, explains. “We are in communication every week to move players, to ask players sometimes just to train, other times to be in the squad, on the roster. I think it's important when they have the environment to compete in a professional environment. I think it's very helpful for them because they are working in a club which pays a lot of attention to the young talents.”