Case study: Barcelona FC youth academy

The story
Barcelona Football Club’s unique in-house talent management model is seen as the best in professional football. While the club, like others, generates substantial revenues from business partnerships – in December it announced a sponsorship deal with the Qatari government worth €30m ($39m) a year – and purchasing “marquee” players, the bedrock of its success has been its ability to produce top players through La Masía, its in-house training academy.

All three finalists for Monday’s Fifa 2010 Ballon d’Or for the world’s player of the year are graduates of the academy and the winner, Lionel Messi, won for the second successive year.


The challenge
In recent years professional football has become increasingly competitive. An influx of wealthy owners, particularly in the English Premier League and owners such as Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, has changed the broader dynamics of football finance. Could Barcelona’s traditional model keep pace?


A holistic approach
La Masía has been home to more than 500 players over three decades, as both a training academy and boarding house.

The original aim of the school was to develop successful football players. It sought out players who were talented, but also had the drive to win and the ability to work as part of a team. Personal development and athletic performance are made inseparable in the lives of young players.

In the team’s lower ranks, everyone plays for the same number of minutes, which allows players to mature gradually. As they develop mentally and physically, competitiveness is increasingly stressed. José Ramón Alexanco, the former technical director for youth football at Barcelona, explains that some high-potential players, such as Messi, might be moved up the ranks more quickly than others. But the coaching staff carefully analyse such decisions, he says, since a mistake can damage the self-esteem of a young player, and, consequently, his successful progression.

Young players are expected to adopt the team’s fast-paced style of play early on. This means they will be able to integrate quickly when the big moment arrives and they join the starting team.

The demands of a sports career, the daily stress of schoolwork and separation from family can affect the mindset of promising players. Andrés Iniesta recalls the day he arrived at La Masía at the age of 12: “It seemed like the world was ending; it was a like a new life was starting and it made a huge impact.”

For this reason, support from teachers, psychologists and other professionals who have contact with the young athletes is viewed as essential.

La Masía’s renown for instilling strong personal values in young players has played a vital role in the school’s success. It has also helped convince many parents to let their children join the club, even though the real chances of becoming a member of Barcelona’s first team are slim.


The lessons
Barcelona has earned the commitment of the players. Those in the team’s lower ranks know that the club has confidence in them and believes they have the potential to make it to the starting team. For that reason, they are more inclined to put a possible career with Barcelona before monetary gains with another club.

For companies looking to develop and retain top talent, the lessons are that success requires a clear strategy for talent development and the patience to think beyond short-term gains. Organisations need to be consistent in articulating their values in everything that they do because investing intelligently in talent can generate a unique competitive advantage over the long term.
- Financial Times, 12 Jan 2011