Ranking the Top 6 Teenagers to Have Played for Barcelona Since 2000
It's not easy to break into Barcelona's team, especially at a young age.
Only a select few have been able to convince their coach that they are worth taking a gamble on before they even hit 20 years old.
Sergio Busquets, for example, had to wait until he became a young adult, rather than a teenager, before he was trusted with the shirt.
Then there were players such as Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba, who, despite being formed with Barcelona, ended up moving elsewhere before getting their chance at Camp Nou.
So here is our list of the top six teenagers to have played for Barcelona since 2000, based on how good they were at the time they played and not what they went on to achieve, or not achieve.
There may be a couple of surprising names in there...
6. Sergi Samper
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Sergi Samper has just played in 11 games for Barcelona, with only one of those in La Liga, and yet he makes the list.
Luis Enrique handed him his debut at 19 years old, in the Champions League against Apoel Nicosia in September 2014. Barcelona won 1-0, and he put in a reasonable display on a big stage, showing his composure and passing ability.
Since then he has featured most frequently in the Copa del Rey as he slowly works his way into contention—this season is the first time he has been officially included as a first-team squad member.
Although we haven’t seen much of Samper, he is still the sixth-best teenager to play for the club since the millennium, which shows how hard it is to even pull on Blaugrana colours at such a young age.
5. Munir El Haddadi
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Even though he hasn’t earned himself a spot in the team—nearly impossible with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in his way—Munir has done well since Luis Enrique picked him in the first game of the 2014-15 season.
That was a 3-0 win against Elche, in which Munir became Barcelona's third-youngest ever goalscorer at 18 years and 357 days.
He found it tough going after that, struggling to get many minutes and find the net when he was given the chance, but in his second season he put that straight.
Munir had a purple patch of sorts after bagging two goals in the Copa del Rey against Villanovense. He then went on to score three more league goals when asked to stand in as a substitute for the front three.
Whether he will make it at Barcelona in the long term is unknown, but so far he is pressing the right buttons.
4. Andres Iniesta
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By now the playmaker has to go down as one of the greatest Barcelona players ever, but few would have predicted that when he made his debut back in October 2002.
Louis van Gaal was the man to give him the chance, and he took it well, quickly becoming a useful player for the club.
It was not until he turned 20 that he became a key part of Barcelona’s team—when he was 18 and 19 he was shuffled in and out, playing for Barcelona B as well.
But his talent was beginning to shine through, and as soon as he commanded a place in the side things began to work out nicely for both he and Barcelona.
There were moments, though, when he played as a teenager that some thought he wasn’t the right build or physically strong enough yet, but thanks to Txiki Begiristain and other directors Barcelona decided to keep him instead of loaning him to Rangers, per the Evening Express.
While there’s nothing to say he wouldn’t have gone on to be so successful if that didn’t happen, Barcelona fans will be glad he was kept at the club.
3. Thiago Alcantara
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It was May 2009, at the age of 18, when Thiago Alcantara made his debut, and he was instantly someone that was predicted to go on and have a big future.
He netted his first goal for the club less than a year later, and a year after that made it onto the bench as Barcelona won the 2011 Champions League trophy.
However, because of the players in his way—Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets—his game time was limited. So limited, in fact, that it invalidated his release fee clause and allowed Bayern Munich to nip in and sign him for a much lower price.
Injuries have had an unfortunate impact since, but when fit, Thiago has shown just why he made waves when breaking through, and why Barcelona were regarded as slack in allowing him to leave.
2. Bojan Krkic
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Although he currently plies his trade for Stoke City in the Premier League, for a while Bojan was football’s next big thing.
He made his debut at just 17 years and 19 days, earlier than even Lionel Messi did, and ended up scoring 12 goals in his first season at the top level.
He even scored the winning goal in the Champions League quarter-final against Schalke that season, as well as breaking Messi's record for being the youngest player to score in La Liga.
But the pressure of being such a hotly-tipped teenager got to him, and this is perhaps one of the reasons why clubs delay giving players games at such young ages.
“Overnight, I couldn’t even walk down the street,” Bojan said, per the Guardian. “I couldn’t go to a birthday party or to the cinema.”
Eventually, in 2011, Bojan left Barcelona and joined Roma. It was a beautiful start for him at Camp Nou but a painful finish.
1. Lionel Messi
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While there have been a few unorthodox names on the list so far, by far the best teenager to play for Barcelona needs no introduction.
Although Messi played in a friendly as a 16-year-old, he didn't make his first-team debut until he was 17, three months and 22 days old, although he was still the youngest player to feature for the club at the time.
It came on October 16, 2004, against Espanyol in La Liga, with Messi entering the fray as a substitute.
The Argentine's first goal followed on May 1, 2005, in a clash with Albacete. By the time he was 19 he was a regular in the side and didn't look out of place one bit alongside greats like Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o.
Even at that age, he was considered one of the best players in the world. The years afterwards have left no doubt—he is the very best.
