Barça’s Journey: Letting passion, not money, fuel football
Remember when football used to be a sport and not an economic fight between clubs?
Football, for decades, has been a universal passion, a tool for unity, and even a form of identity. However, in recent years, something seems to have been lost along the way. Today, football news is filled with astronomical transfer figures, stakeholders, advertising contracts and fights over broadcast rights. But how did we get here?
When did we start looking at players as financial assets and stadiums as advertising showcases? As we reach this point, a question arises among footballers’ community: are we losing the essence of football?
The case of FC Barcelona, one of the greatest teams in the history of the sport, offers an interesting perspective on this issue.
Barça’s Economic Crisis: From glory to turmoil.
Under the presidency of Josep Maria Bartomeu (2014-2020), the club significantly increased its spending, betting on big signings and contract renewals with very high salaries. During this period, the club had invested record sums in players such as Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann, whose performances did not meet sporting expectations and raised questions regarding the extent to which the club’s investment on them was worth it . As a consequence of this, Barça had the highest wage bill in European football and it wasn’t giving positive results, which became unsustainable [https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/flops-thrashings-and-financial-ruin-a-timeline-of-how-it-all-went-wrong-for-barcelona]. In addition to this, untransparent financial activity between Bartomeu and his partners caused discomfort, and raised concerns about the club’s lack of economic transparency and potential corruption.
As a result of this leadership and economic management, the club started facing several issues that threatened its stability.
The situation worsened in 2019/20, as the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the crisis by drastically reducing revenue from events and activities associated with the stadium. Barcelona revealed that they missed out on £184m in revenue during the 2019/20 [https://www.90min.com/posts/barcelona-announces-184m-loss-in-revenue-2019-20].
One of the biggest clubs in the history of football found itself caught in a spiral of losses, facing numerous challenges while limited by a tight budget.
Despite these setbacks, the expectations of their passionate supporters who demanded victory remained high. So the big question was: how could Barça rebuild the competitive team it once had?
Barça’s recovery – is the real essence of football back?
Since the club couldn’t afford paying the salaries of top world football players, the directive board realized that they should change the focus on what the club already has, one of the most prestigious football player formation centers in the world: La Masia. We must remember that players such as Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Busquets and Piqué emerged from that training center
In recent years, several players trained at La Masia have begun to stand out playing in the professional team. Names such as Gavi, Alejandro Balde, Lamine Yamal, etc. Have established themselves as pillars of Barça, standing out for their youth, and, most importantly, for their quality [https://everythingbarca.com/posts/youth-academy-la-masia-is-solving-fc-barcelona-s-problems-one-star-product-at-a-time-01j45rwbehvx].
Thanks to this generational renewal, the team has managed to become the youngest in European professional football competitions, with a large number of players who have been trained in their own youth academy.This shift has not only refreshed the team but also enhanced social media virality of the club, as fans around the world connect with the stories of these homegrown players thanks to the club’s reporting through platforms such as tik tok or instagram.
Once we’ve seen the positive impact these players have had on the club a question arises; would these players have reached the professional team if the club could afford investing in top players from other teams? Would their names—names filled with passion, dreams, effort, and with a strong sense of belonging to the club—have been overlooked?
The players who are now making it to the first team did not arrive yesterday. They are the same children who joined La Masia at 6 or 7 years old, with the dream of wearing a Barça shirt. Children who grew up learning the values of the club: effort, humility, respect and, above all, love for football. Now, those children are defending the colors of the club and displaying magic in the Camp Nou, proving that clubs don’t need to spend millions to build a competitive team. Faced with this reality, Barça has rediscovered its youth system. La Masia, the club’s legendary training academy, has been a talent factory for decades.
The model that Barça is implementing emerged from a financial necessity, but it serves as a reminder that football is not just a business; it is the opportunity to make the dreams of those who have worked for years in the hope of succeeding in the sport come true.
Each club has its own core players that have been training and aiming for excelling in their their beloved sport since they were kids, that feel the colors of the club they represent and are embedded with its values. Let’s give them the opportunity of defending the flag from the club they feel honored to be in, let those players that look beyond signing contract benefits and financial convenience when choosing a team be the ones that reach the professional leagues.
Let’s stop making football the show of money.
