Top 5 Homegrown players in Barcelona's history

Josep Guardiola
Guardiola doesn't nearly get as much credit as he deserves for his incredible playing career

La Masia.

Over the years, Barcelona's esteemed youth academy has come to represent everything good about the club. While the Blaugrana's incredible achievements over the course of their 118 year history are astounding, the fact that some of the best players in their history were honed and nurtured by their own academy makes it even more special.

La Masia's astounding success has redefined what it means to be a footballing academy. While clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea can pride themselves on having their graduates playing at the highest levels in Europe, neither of them can claim to produce players of the pedigree that La Masia does.

Over the years, it's not only given Barca the means to become a global footballing behemoth, its also provided world class players for the Spanish national team, players who ushered in the Golden Era that saw them win two successive Euros and a World Cup.

Choosing only 5 players from La Masia's long and illustrious alumni is not an easy task, but here is my opinion on who the best of the best are.


#5 Pep Guardiola

One of Barcelona's most legendary midfielders and the most successful manager in the club's history. If you were to make a list of the people who are responsible for Barca being the club that it is today, Pep would probably be at the top.

Almost everyone knows what he's done for them as a manager (14 trophies in 4 seasons), but he was actually even more successful for them as a player.

In the peak of his playing career in the 90's, Pep was one of the most technically gifted deep lying playmakers in the world. He represented Barca's C and B teams before breaking into the first team in 1991 at just the age of 20.

He was a first team regular throughout that decade, helping Barca dominate the La Liga and win an unprecedented 6 league titles.

He never possessed pace or an imposing physicality, so he was mostly utilised to start attacking moves from the back with his vision and creativity. Eventually, his playing time would be restricted thanks to the emergence of two younger Spanish midfielders (we'll meet them a little ways down the list), but at his peak, he was one of the best in the world.

#4 Carles Puyol

FC Barcelona v L'Hospitalet - Copa del Rey
One of the most passionate players in Barca's history

Puyol was Barca through and through - he never represented any other club in his career.

After impressing with the reserve team in the Spanish second division, Barca initially agreed to sell him in 1998 to Malaga, but the then 20 year old refused to leave after seeing his close friend Xavi get promoted to the first team.

He eventually was promoted himself, as Louis van Gaal handed him a debut the following year against Real Valladolid in La Liga. He went on to make over 593 appearances for them in all competitions in an incredible career spanning 15 seasons.

If Guardiola was the cornerstone of Barca's success in the 90's, it was Puyol in the 2000's. He took over as club captain after Luis Enrique retired in 2004, leading his team to six league titles and three Champions League titles.

He was easily one of the best defenders in the world during his playing career renowned for his rugged, no nonsense approach to defending. While La Masia is mostly known for producing technically adept midfielders, Puyol was on the opposite end of the spectrum.

He eventually retired in 2014 after a glittering career with 21 major honours, having captained his boyhood club for 10 seasons.

#3 Xavi Hernandez

FC Barcelona v RC Deportivo La Coruna - La Liga
A management career on the road ahead for Xavi?

Xavi joined La Masia at the age of 11, making his way through the ranks and making his debut for Barcelona B in 1997. After a good year with them, he earned himself a senior debut in May 1998 in the Copa Catalunya.

What followed, of course, in the next 17 odd years, was an incredibly successful career that brought him a mind boggling 25 major honours with his club, and 3 with Spain.

At the peak of his playing career in a team that was honed by Pep Guardiola into one of the finest club teams in the history of the sport, Xavi was easily the best box-to-box central midfielder on the planet.

Xavi was the archetype of the highly technical and skilled midfielders that La Masia was producing at the turn of the century. Blessed with an incredible tactical and spatial awareness, his ability to keep the ball moving and pick out empty spaces was exactly what Guardiola needed in his midfielders.

He holds the record for most number of appearances for the club with over 750 in all competitions. In spite of younger players like Fabregas and Thiago coming through the youth system, Xavi was always first choice in midfield throughout his career.

He was also the heart of an incredible Spanish midfield that was based on the same template as Pep's Barca, a team that won an unprecedented three successive international trophies between 2008 and 2012.

Xavi eventually moved on to Qatari club Al Sadd in 2015 at the age of 35, as the signing of Ivan Rakitic had started limiting his first team chances. He also recently announced that he'd be retiring at the end of the season to pursue a coaching career.

#2 Andres Iniesta

Netherlands v Spain: 2010 FIFA World Cup Final
Iniesta celebrates scoring the goal that made Spain World Champions

Ineista made his first team debut in 2002, but only became a regular in 2004. When the youngster was starting to break into the team, Pep Guardiola famously told Xavi, "This lad is going to retire us all."

Like Xavi, Iniesta was diminutive in stature and even lacked the physicality of the former, but made up for it with his tactical intelligence, ball control, work rate, versatility and vision. For most of his career at the Camp Nou, Iniesta has been, and still is, Barca's primary midfield creator.

While Busquets and Xavi shore up the defence and Messi works his magic with the other forwards higher up the pitch, Iniesta provides the link between attack and defence.

His understanding and interplay with Xavi and Messi is almost telepathic, and when the trio are in full flow, they're almost magical to watch, capable of breaking down virtually any defence in Europe.

Along with Xavi and Xabi Alonso, he also formed the midfield of the Spanish golden generation, scoring the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final in extra time against Netherlands.

At the age of 33, he's still first choice in midfield for the Catalans, and also recently signed a lifetime contract. Iniesta will probably continue playing at the highest level for a couple more years, and with Barca being in a time of transition, will need him at his very best.

#1 Leo Messi

FC Barcelona v Granada CF - La Liga
Messi might be 30 now, but his importance to Barca is only going to increase in the coming years.

Of course, him.

Messi might be Argentine by birth, but he grew up at La Masia, moulded and shaped by the youth academy's Spanish footballing philosophies.

In the 2003/04 season, a ridiculously young 16 year old Messi rose through the ranks and made his debut for a record 5 teams. He'd made only over 20 appearances for the reserves when Frank Rijkaard, who had called him an "alien" and stated that even the senior team defenders were afraid to face him, promoted him to the first team in 2004.

It took him a while to get settled in, becoming a regular only in 2006. His friendship with Ronaldinho was helpful, and even today, you can see a few characteristics of the Brazilian reflected in Messi's style of play.

In 14 seasons, he's scored 530 goals in 612 appearances. Messi's been involved in every single bit of success that the Catalans have enjoyed over the last 15 years.

While Barca might be known for their teamwork and intricate play, Messi has carried both his team and his country on his own shoulders several times. He's done things that no other player would even dare try, he's scored goals and provided assists that defy imagination.

Its fair to say that Messi is not just Barcelona's best, he's probably the greatest of all time to have graced the beautiful game.

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Edited by Michael Dsouza