Barça want to turn La Masia into another La Fábrica

For years, Barcelona presented La Masia as proof that a club could be built differently from Real Madrid. The Catalans have now discovered that Madrid’s academy graduates have one major advantage: they turn into money much faster. According to Cadena SER, Barça want to copy their biggest rival’s approach to managing young players.

There is plenty to copy. AS estimates that Real could generate close to €200 million this summer from players connected to La Fábrica. The sales of Gonzalo García and César Palacios alone reportedly brought in around €50 million, while Madrid retained a 30% stake in both players. They sell the talent, collect the money and keep waiting for another payment. Unsurprisingly, Barcelona seem particularly interested in this part of the model.

Barça plan to sell more academy graduates with buy-back clauses or future sell-on percentages. This would provide immediate income, improve their Financial Fair Play position and allow them to bring a player back if he develops elsewhere. Assuming, of course, that they can eventually afford to repurchase their own graduate.

La Masia will therefore remain the future of Barcelona. That future will simply play for another club first, help balance the books and perhaps return one day. Barça spent years explaining how different they were from Real Madrid. In the end, they decided it would be easier to copy them.