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The Barcelona Complex: Lionel Messi and the Making--and Unmaking--of the World's Greatest Soccer Club
With rare and unrivaled access, bestselling coauthor of Soccernomics and longtime Financial Times journalist Simon Kuper tells the story of how FC Barcelona became the most successful club in the world—and how that era is now ending
FC Barcelona is not just the world’s highest grossing sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organizations on the planet. At last count, it had approximately 214 million social media followers, more than any other sports club except Real Madrid CF—and by one earlier measure, more than all thirty-two NFL teams combined. It has more in common with multinational megacompanies like Netflix or small nation-states than it does with most soccer teams. No wonder its motto is “More than a club.” But it was not always so. In the past three decades, Barcelona went from a regional team to a global powerhouse, becoming a model of sustained excellence and beautiful soccer, and a consistent winner of championships. Simon Kuper unravels exactly how this transformation took place, paying special attention to the club’s two biggest stars, Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi, who is arguably the greatest soccer player of all time. Messi joined Barça at age thirteen and, more than anyone, has been the engine and standard-bearer of Barcelona’s glory. But his era is coming to an end—and with it, a once-in-a-lifetime golden run. This book charts Barça’s rise and fall.
Like many world-beating organizations, FC Barcelona closely guards its secrets, granting few outsiders access to the Camp Nou, its legendary home stadium. But after decades of writing about the sport and the club, Kuper was given access to the inner sanctum and the people behind the scenes who strive daily to keep Barcelona at the top. Erudite, personal, and capturing all the latest upheavals, his portrait of this incredible institution goes beyond soccer to understand FC Barcelona as a unique social, cultural, and political phenomenon.
FC Barcelona is not just the world’s highest grossing sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organizations on the planet. At last count, it had approximately 214 million social media followers, more than any other sports club except Real Madrid CF—and by one earlier measure, more than all thirty-two NFL teams combined. It has more in common with multinational megacompanies like Netflix or small nation-states than it does with most soccer teams. No wonder its motto is “More than a club.” But it was not always so. In the past three decades, Barcelona went from a regional team to a global powerhouse, becoming a model of sustained excellence and beautiful soccer, and a consistent winner of championships. Simon Kuper unravels exactly how this transformation took place, paying special attention to the club’s two biggest stars, Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi, who is arguably the greatest soccer player of all time. Messi joined Barça at age thirteen and, more than anyone, has been the engine and standard-bearer of Barcelona’s glory. But his era is coming to an end—and with it, a once-in-a-lifetime golden run. This book charts Barça’s rise and fall.
Like many world-beating organizations, FC Barcelona closely guards its secrets, granting few outsiders access to the Camp Nou, its legendary home stadium. But after decades of writing about the sport and the club, Kuper was given access to the inner sanctum and the people behind the scenes who strive daily to keep Barcelona at the top. Erudite, personal, and capturing all the latest upheavals, his portrait of this incredible institution goes beyond soccer to understand FC Barcelona as a unique social, cultural, and political phenomenon.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published August 12, 2021
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October 19, 2021
Once almost every football fan’s second favourite club, in recent years FC Barcelona have become a byword for bloated self-importance, self-aggrandising entitlement, and financial ineptitude. Yet, only a decade ago Barca were synonymous with perhaps the most sophisticated football the world has ever seen. Now, in 2021, they are a desiccated shell of a club, over €1 billion in debt, attempting to bulldoze a Super League cartel into existence in a desperate bid to secure their financial survival. This is definitely a sports story that requires telling at length. And if you wanted a football writer to chart the inspirational rise and precipitous fall of FC Barcelona, it is hard to think of anybody more equal to the task than Simon Kuper.
When it comes to the rise of FC Barcelona, Kuper pinpoints one figure as being pivotal to the history of the club: the Dutch master, Johan Cruyff. Described here by Kuper as “the most interesting, original and infuriating man in football’s history”, Cruyff is the man who built the cathedral of F.C. Barcelona, and whose vision and idiosyncrasies have indelibly marked the club’s journey over the last half-century. Even though Cruyff’s involvement with Barca ended in 1996, almost every subsequent manager at the club has sought to implement his ‘Total Football’ philosophy, not least the man who Kuper describes as having “completed Cruyff’s cathedral”: Pep Guardiola. This philosophy has for decades been reflected in a mesmerising attacking style, based on a collective mentality that values possession and constantly revolving tactical positioning, down to a youth academy (La Masia) that prioritises improving over winning.
If Cruyff is the figure who dominates the first half of the book, then Guardiola and Messi are the key characters in the second half. Simon Kuper charts F.C. Barcelona’s evolution during this period from a symbol of Catalan regional pride into a global multinational. Apparently based on impeccable sourcing from within the club, Kuper provides a piercing insight into how modern day global mega-clubs are run, and the attendant pressures on players and backroom staff. He also offers fascinating detail about footballers’ relationship to nutrition and sleep that a more workaday football writer wouldn’t consider covering.
Based on his previous work, I expected Simon Kuper to have a masterful command of the history of FCB and how it relates to broader trends of Spanish and Catalan history (and he certainly doesn’t disappoint in these regards). What came as a hugely pleasing surprise was how brilliantly Kuper writes about football tactics. From Barcelona’s use of rapid pattern recognition through to their interpretation of space, Kuper makes contemporary tactics accessible without never being arcane; to such an extent that you will understand modern-day football after reading this book. It is also a lesson on how player power can work well (the Guardiola-Xavi-Iniesta golden years) ... and how it can go wrong (the bloated mess that FCB has been for the last half-decade). As Kuper succinctly puts it, F.C. Barcelona has “morphed from ‘mes que un club’ to ‘Messi’s club’”.
Even if, like this reviewer, you believe that F.C. Barcelona have become a grotesque travesty – their ‘more than a club’ motto exposed as pure cant – this is still a terrific read. Neither a pure history of the club, nor a biography of Cruyff or Messi, nor an analysis of how the team relates to Catalan society, rather than falling between these numerous stools , Kuper manages to cover all of these areas expertly. Not only will this book give you a greater understanding of the institution of F.C. Barcelona (in terms of both it’s undoubted virtues and most recent hubris), it also helps the casual reader to understand modern-day football more lucidly – a feat few other football books come close to accomplishing.
When it comes to the rise of FC Barcelona, Kuper pinpoints one figure as being pivotal to the history of the club: the Dutch master, Johan Cruyff. Described here by Kuper as “the most interesting, original and infuriating man in football’s history”, Cruyff is the man who built the cathedral of F.C. Barcelona, and whose vision and idiosyncrasies have indelibly marked the club’s journey over the last half-century. Even though Cruyff’s involvement with Barca ended in 1996, almost every subsequent manager at the club has sought to implement his ‘Total Football’ philosophy, not least the man who Kuper describes as having “completed Cruyff’s cathedral”: Pep Guardiola. This philosophy has for decades been reflected in a mesmerising attacking style, based on a collective mentality that values possession and constantly revolving tactical positioning, down to a youth academy (La Masia) that prioritises improving over winning.
If Cruyff is the figure who dominates the first half of the book, then Guardiola and Messi are the key characters in the second half. Simon Kuper charts F.C. Barcelona’s evolution during this period from a symbol of Catalan regional pride into a global multinational. Apparently based on impeccable sourcing from within the club, Kuper provides a piercing insight into how modern day global mega-clubs are run, and the attendant pressures on players and backroom staff. He also offers fascinating detail about footballers’ relationship to nutrition and sleep that a more workaday football writer wouldn’t consider covering.
Based on his previous work, I expected Simon Kuper to have a masterful command of the history of FCB and how it relates to broader trends of Spanish and Catalan history (and he certainly doesn’t disappoint in these regards). What came as a hugely pleasing surprise was how brilliantly Kuper writes about football tactics. From Barcelona’s use of rapid pattern recognition through to their interpretation of space, Kuper makes contemporary tactics accessible without never being arcane; to such an extent that you will understand modern-day football after reading this book. It is also a lesson on how player power can work well (the Guardiola-Xavi-Iniesta golden years) ... and how it can go wrong (the bloated mess that FCB has been for the last half-decade). As Kuper succinctly puts it, F.C. Barcelona has “morphed from ‘mes que un club’ to ‘Messi’s club’”.
Even if, like this reviewer, you believe that F.C. Barcelona have become a grotesque travesty – their ‘more than a club’ motto exposed as pure cant – this is still a terrific read. Neither a pure history of the club, nor a biography of Cruyff or Messi, nor an analysis of how the team relates to Catalan society, rather than falling between these numerous stools , Kuper manages to cover all of these areas expertly. Not only will this book give you a greater understanding of the institution of F.C. Barcelona (in terms of both it’s undoubted virtues and most recent hubris), it also helps the casual reader to understand modern-day football more lucidly – a feat few other football books come close to accomplishing.
October 8, 2023
If you want to know what the rise of one of the best football clubs in history was like, and how it fell into the shadows, you should give this work a chance.
Read, enjoy and learn.
Read, enjoy and learn.
September 19, 2021
This is a fair-minded look at the modern history of Barcelona - especially given Kuper’s self-identification as a huge Barcelona fan, and particularly of Johan Cruyff who defined their recent era. It gives the most comprehensive story I’ve yet seen of how various factors including their academy, culture and ownership structure have combined to create such a remarkable sporting story.
If anything though it feels too neat - like the club achieved perfection, everyone cannibalised it, and now its best days are behind it. Sort of true, but glosses over the period from the mid/late 1990s to c. 2005 when the club wasn’t anything special - very exciting to see playing in Europe, but a team of individuals who never really threatened to be anything more. Put differently, Barcelona has always been just another very successful club, built off a combination of *lots* of money and a periodically successful academy. The book doesn’t really persuade that there’s too much more to it than that.
If anything though it feels too neat - like the club achieved perfection, everyone cannibalised it, and now its best days are behind it. Sort of true, but glosses over the period from the mid/late 1990s to c. 2005 when the club wasn’t anything special - very exciting to see playing in Europe, but a team of individuals who never really threatened to be anything more. Put differently, Barcelona has always been just another very successful club, built off a combination of *lots* of money and a periodically successful academy. The book doesn’t really persuade that there’s too much more to it than that.
October 1, 2022
Good stuff. I didn’t know too much about Barcelona going in but I really liked Kuper’s authorial voice and I definitely want to read more of this his work.
April 23, 2025
barcelona is undoubtedly the best football club to ever exist.
its roots in the catalan culture, from the language used in the club to the management, and the key foundations in cruyffs school of football make it just that.
this book made me cry and i dont think ive read a better one in my life.
reading about heros like messi, iniesta, xavi, puyol, busquets, pique made me feel as if i were six again and i would do anything to see barcelona play again with the team of my childhood.
i dont think i will ever discover a book so deeply researched into the core of barcelona, ever.
it touches upon the intricacies of club football, from players sleep and nutrition to the way the president of the club is voted in.
kuper identifies barcelona as more than its first team. he touches upon the women’s team, basketball, handball, even baseball.
i truly wish i could read this book for the first time again.
its roots in the catalan culture, from the language used in the club to the management, and the key foundations in cruyffs school of football make it just that.
this book made me cry and i dont think ive read a better one in my life.
reading about heros like messi, iniesta, xavi, puyol, busquets, pique made me feel as if i were six again and i would do anything to see barcelona play again with the team of my childhood.
i dont think i will ever discover a book so deeply researched into the core of barcelona, ever.
it touches upon the intricacies of club football, from players sleep and nutrition to the way the president of the club is voted in.
kuper identifies barcelona as more than its first team. he touches upon the women’s team, basketball, handball, even baseball.
i truly wish i could read this book for the first time again.
February 18, 2024
A superb and comprehensive work, chronicling almost the entire history (both rise and fall) of FC Barcelona, as well as providing useful culture insights on Catalonia, the city of Barcelona and the important role that the football club plays in this cultural picture.
Additionally, the book is full of quotes from interviews that the author personally conducted, over a period of several decades, with some of the biggest figures of the game and also Barcelona club insiders.
The book is also really good in terms of lifting the lid on professional football more generally and explaining what makes modern football tick, including tactics, nutrition, agents, player attitudes and many more aspects.
Would highly recommend. One of the best, if not the best, sports book I've ever read.
Additionally, the book is full of quotes from interviews that the author personally conducted, over a period of several decades, with some of the biggest figures of the game and also Barcelona club insiders.
The book is also really good in terms of lifting the lid on professional football more generally and explaining what makes modern football tick, including tactics, nutrition, agents, player attitudes and many more aspects.
Would highly recommend. One of the best, if not the best, sports book I've ever read.
July 13, 2025
FC Barcelona’s Faustian search for more money, more bad transfers, and more Messi has led them astray from the core values that made them mes que un club: Cruyff, Catalonia, Masia, UNICEF. Kuper makes good use of his 30 years of experience with Barcelona to expertly examine this self imposed downfall, with interesting insights into the “talent” that powers the Beautiful Game today.
September 19, 2022
Jedna z najlepších športových kníh, ake som čítal a este sme ju aj vydali u nas v robote :)
August 20, 2022
I’m an avid reader of soccer(football) books. This was one of the best I’ve read. Incredible insights into areas never mentioned in most books - such as politics, sleep habits, diets, and organizational structure. It brought clarity to what is happening at Barcelona in 2022 with purchases and the summer long issue with Frankie de Jong. A must read for any fan.
January 27, 2023
An insightful look into football and the rise and fall of Barcelona, and the impact of Cruyff on the club. I came out of this book with a more informed love for the game.
February 27, 2023
bardzo przyjemnie sie czytało -
4,5 🌟🌟🌟🌟
4,5 🌟🌟🌟🌟
September 6, 2023
one of the best soccer books i've ever read! highly recommend if you are reading this review and have any interest in European soccer, Leo Messi, the inner workings of sports in general
June 5, 2024
Fun to read but long. More positive than negative. More of a historical overview than inside scoop.
October 2, 2024
Great first half, a little bit dragging at the start of the second, devastating ending.
March 29, 2022
This review first appeared at Soccer America:
Barcelona's 3-0 home loss to Bayern Munich in last week's UEFA Champions League group game hardly registered as a shock result. It came barely a year after Bayern hammered the Catalans 8-2 in the quarterfinal of the 2019-20 competition, defeats that sandwiched a 4-1 home loss to Paris St. Germain that led to last season's round of 16 UCL exit. Heavy away defeats to Roma (2017-18 quarterfinal) and Liverpool (2018-19 semifinal) had already highlighted the decline of a team whose prime players from its golden age a decade ago under Pep Guardiola had either retired (Carlos Puyol), left for a final payday elsewhere (Andres Iniesta, Xavi), or were becoming too old to keep up or track back (Sergio Busquets, Lionel Messi, Gerard Piqué).
What happened to one of the greatest teams in history that also formed the core of the invincible Spanish national team that won three consecutive championships (two Euros and one World Cup) between 2008 and 2012?
Simon Kuper partly attributes the team's fall to the $260 million transfer of Neymar to Paris St. Germain in 2017. Not only did they lose a star player, but the cash was not wisely reinvested. Knowing how much money Barcelona had available, Borussia Dortmund's representatives rushed them into paying $170 million for forward Ousmane Dembélé, a deal that's yet to pay off.
Equally symptomatic of an ill-judged transfer policy was the signing of unknown Brazilian midfielder Matheus Fernandes, a 21-year-old reserve player with Palmeiras, for $8 million early last year. He was immediately loaned out to Valladolid, where he made a total of three appearances. After playing just 17 minutes for Barcelona in a Champions League game at Dynamo Kiev, he returned to Palmeiras this summer for free. That's almost half a million dollars per minute, plus wages.
The Covid-19 pandemic, too many mediocre signings, and salaries driven high across the board by the increasingly astronomical sums paid every year to Messi all help to explain why Barcelona now have reported debts of almost $1.6 billion.
It doesn't completely explain, however, why the team has struggled on the field the past few seasons. Another factor is that the club's hallowed youth academy, the Masia (an institution covered in fascinating detail by Kuper), has simply stopped producing as many brilliant players, although there is hope that the next crop -- including Pedri (so strong for Spain at this past summer's European Championship), Ansu Fati and Yusuf Demir -- will come good in a handful of years.
Meanwhile, the expensive Dembélé has so far been inconsistent due to injuries brought on by poor lifestyle choices. Kuper notes that although Barcelona is the dream destination for most professional soccer players, the city's climate and culture present multiple temptations to a young man on lucrative wages. Low-key family men such as Messi and Iniesta were much easier to manage in an era where nutrition, abstinence and early nights had become crucial to avoiding injury and maintaining world-class performance on a weekly basis. It also helped that these players came through the youth system and were not only single-minded in their desire to win honors, they cared deeply about the club too.
Kuper begins his book at the roots of Barcelona's claim to being "more than a club" during the 1970s after it signed Johan Cruyff, who played for the team under his Dutch compatriot Rinus Michels. "Cruyff created the great Barça," Kuper writes. "In the words of his chief disciple Pep Guardiola, he built the cathedral. More than that, Cruyff arguably created modern soccer itself." On the field - with Cruyff as player, and then as coach in the 80s and 90s -- Barcelona adopted and adapted the Dutch concept of total soccer, later perfected under Guardiola with his team of diminutive geniuses. Off the field, its fan club of 150,000 socis ensured that Barcelona "is a genuine club: a local voluntary association of members" in the Catalan tradition of strong trade unions and cooperatives.
The author set out to write a book exploring what has made Barcelona so special, and the chapters on the Cruyff and Messi years are a captivating read. In tandem with the Masia and its sensitive nurturing of small, skillful players, the two men have been central to Barcelona's reputation and success. Kuper's research, however, coincided with the fall outlined in the opening paragraph that has gone hand in hand with bitter intra-club political turmoil, and leads him to the regretful conclusion that it's no longer more than a club, it's more like just another mega-brand in the mold of Real Madrid or Manchester United.
Alongside the on-field decline, things began to go wrong when the 2013 sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways was signed. "A tension arose that has only worsened since," Kuper writes. "Barça was trying to turn itself into a global entertainments business while remaining a Catalan-nationalist social club." He might also have mentioned that Barcelona was one of the primary movers behind this year's failed attempt to found an exclusive, no-relegation European Super League.
He also describes attending a Barcelona home game with his kids a couple of years ago, paying $72 per ticket to see a game with several thousand other 'tourist fans,' largely void of atmosphere in a stadium one-third empty, but during which Messi typically tallied two goals and two assists. While his kids had a great day out, Kuper knows that for many locals the price is far too high to watch a team that purports to represent so much more than a mere collection of talented sportsmen.
It also made me glad that I avoided the Camp Nou when in Barcelona as a tourist last year. Kuper draws a parallel between the club and the city's still unfinished Sagrada Família, designed by Antoni Gaudí -- the only part of my visit to Barcelona that left me scratching my head and wondering why I'd stood in line and paid money to witness something so wasteful and bombastic. Art critic Robert Hughes described the cathedral as "rampant kitsch," words you could also apply to the marketing of modern soccer. Kuper notes that "though Gaudí's vision survives him, nobody is entirely sure what it is." For Gaudí, read Cruyff.
Kuper skillfully collates what many will already know of the Barcelona story, and then adds his own insight, interviews, anecdotes and analysis. This is not a great soccer book, because much of this territory has been explored, but it's a very good one, and in the current bloated market that makes it an exceptional read.
Barcelona's 3-0 home loss to Bayern Munich in last week's UEFA Champions League group game hardly registered as a shock result. It came barely a year after Bayern hammered the Catalans 8-2 in the quarterfinal of the 2019-20 competition, defeats that sandwiched a 4-1 home loss to Paris St. Germain that led to last season's round of 16 UCL exit. Heavy away defeats to Roma (2017-18 quarterfinal) and Liverpool (2018-19 semifinal) had already highlighted the decline of a team whose prime players from its golden age a decade ago under Pep Guardiola had either retired (Carlos Puyol), left for a final payday elsewhere (Andres Iniesta, Xavi), or were becoming too old to keep up or track back (Sergio Busquets, Lionel Messi, Gerard Piqué).
What happened to one of the greatest teams in history that also formed the core of the invincible Spanish national team that won three consecutive championships (two Euros and one World Cup) between 2008 and 2012?
Simon Kuper partly attributes the team's fall to the $260 million transfer of Neymar to Paris St. Germain in 2017. Not only did they lose a star player, but the cash was not wisely reinvested. Knowing how much money Barcelona had available, Borussia Dortmund's representatives rushed them into paying $170 million for forward Ousmane Dembélé, a deal that's yet to pay off.
Equally symptomatic of an ill-judged transfer policy was the signing of unknown Brazilian midfielder Matheus Fernandes, a 21-year-old reserve player with Palmeiras, for $8 million early last year. He was immediately loaned out to Valladolid, where he made a total of three appearances. After playing just 17 minutes for Barcelona in a Champions League game at Dynamo Kiev, he returned to Palmeiras this summer for free. That's almost half a million dollars per minute, plus wages.
The Covid-19 pandemic, too many mediocre signings, and salaries driven high across the board by the increasingly astronomical sums paid every year to Messi all help to explain why Barcelona now have reported debts of almost $1.6 billion.
It doesn't completely explain, however, why the team has struggled on the field the past few seasons. Another factor is that the club's hallowed youth academy, the Masia (an institution covered in fascinating detail by Kuper), has simply stopped producing as many brilliant players, although there is hope that the next crop -- including Pedri (so strong for Spain at this past summer's European Championship), Ansu Fati and Yusuf Demir -- will come good in a handful of years.
Meanwhile, the expensive Dembélé has so far been inconsistent due to injuries brought on by poor lifestyle choices. Kuper notes that although Barcelona is the dream destination for most professional soccer players, the city's climate and culture present multiple temptations to a young man on lucrative wages. Low-key family men such as Messi and Iniesta were much easier to manage in an era where nutrition, abstinence and early nights had become crucial to avoiding injury and maintaining world-class performance on a weekly basis. It also helped that these players came through the youth system and were not only single-minded in their desire to win honors, they cared deeply about the club too.
Kuper begins his book at the roots of Barcelona's claim to being "more than a club" during the 1970s after it signed Johan Cruyff, who played for the team under his Dutch compatriot Rinus Michels. "Cruyff created the great Barça," Kuper writes. "In the words of his chief disciple Pep Guardiola, he built the cathedral. More than that, Cruyff arguably created modern soccer itself." On the field - with Cruyff as player, and then as coach in the 80s and 90s -- Barcelona adopted and adapted the Dutch concept of total soccer, later perfected under Guardiola with his team of diminutive geniuses. Off the field, its fan club of 150,000 socis ensured that Barcelona "is a genuine club: a local voluntary association of members" in the Catalan tradition of strong trade unions and cooperatives.
The author set out to write a book exploring what has made Barcelona so special, and the chapters on the Cruyff and Messi years are a captivating read. In tandem with the Masia and its sensitive nurturing of small, skillful players, the two men have been central to Barcelona's reputation and success. Kuper's research, however, coincided with the fall outlined in the opening paragraph that has gone hand in hand with bitter intra-club political turmoil, and leads him to the regretful conclusion that it's no longer more than a club, it's more like just another mega-brand in the mold of Real Madrid or Manchester United.
Alongside the on-field decline, things began to go wrong when the 2013 sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways was signed. "A tension arose that has only worsened since," Kuper writes. "Barça was trying to turn itself into a global entertainments business while remaining a Catalan-nationalist social club." He might also have mentioned that Barcelona was one of the primary movers behind this year's failed attempt to found an exclusive, no-relegation European Super League.
He also describes attending a Barcelona home game with his kids a couple of years ago, paying $72 per ticket to see a game with several thousand other 'tourist fans,' largely void of atmosphere in a stadium one-third empty, but during which Messi typically tallied two goals and two assists. While his kids had a great day out, Kuper knows that for many locals the price is far too high to watch a team that purports to represent so much more than a mere collection of talented sportsmen.
It also made me glad that I avoided the Camp Nou when in Barcelona as a tourist last year. Kuper draws a parallel between the club and the city's still unfinished Sagrada Família, designed by Antoni Gaudí -- the only part of my visit to Barcelona that left me scratching my head and wondering why I'd stood in line and paid money to witness something so wasteful and bombastic. Art critic Robert Hughes described the cathedral as "rampant kitsch," words you could also apply to the marketing of modern soccer. Kuper notes that "though Gaudí's vision survives him, nobody is entirely sure what it is." For Gaudí, read Cruyff.
Kuper skillfully collates what many will already know of the Barcelona story, and then adds his own insight, interviews, anecdotes and analysis. This is not a great soccer book, because much of this territory has been explored, but it's a very good one, and in the current bloated market that makes it an exceptional read.
May 16, 2023
So fascinating. This book covers politics, culture, history, sports theory, Cruyffism, and so much more. The FC Barcelona that I grew up with was special, it can almost be empirically proven. Messi is the best player (and to my surprise, one of the powerful influencers in sport) of all time. We’ll likely never see what we saw at Barca ever again, at least not in Barca itself.
This story of the gathering of the perfect conditions for the best soccer team of all time only for those very strengths to lead to an inevitable, humiliating downfall is worthwhile for all fans of the beautiful game.
This story of the gathering of the perfect conditions for the best soccer team of all time only for those very strengths to lead to an inevitable, humiliating downfall is worthwhile for all fans of the beautiful game.
May 1, 2022
Messi is the villain and the hero in Barcelona’s modern history. Saved and destroyed the club.
June 30, 2023
Prima boek, interessant om meer te weten te komen over Cruijff en La Masia!
August 22, 2023
Forever haunted by the image of Pep in Wenger’s kitchen asking if he could play for Arsenal
August 30, 2021
The relationship between the game Americans identify as soccer and the world knows as football is complex. While it struggles to gain popularity and acceptance in the United States, there are indications of rising interest through both player participation and fan attendance. The U.S. Women’s National Team has received a tremendous amount of support due in large part to an incredible run of victories and championships. Recent years have found major networks broadcasting the Premier League, showcasing English teams and star players. This summer, ESPN aired Euro 2020, which was won by Italy over England in a game decided by penalty kicks. It set a record as the most watched European Football Championship match ever in the U.S.
While American sports teams have their own dynasties and loyal fans, a strong argument can be made that the FC Barcelona soccer club from Spain’s Catalonia region is the most famous sports franchise in the world. I had the pleasure of visiting their stadium, Camp Nou, several years ago. I walked through their museum and saw for myself the rich history of the team, their legendary coaches and managers, and their greatest player, Lionel Messi.
Simon Kuper was granted access to FC Barcelona’s staff and offices, and has provided a deep study of the organization. But even this examination finds itself behind the curve of sweeping events. It was published within days of Messi leaving the team after 21 years because of their complicated financial situation.
Readers should not be dissuaded from the book because they think it is only for soccer fans. Kuper is an accomplished writer who places the sport in a world context, and the insights presented here have application far beyond soccer. Whether you enjoy sports or are interested in how winning organizations achieve their success, you will find a treasure trove of fascinating material in THE BARCELONA COMPLEX.
In many ways, the Argentinian-born Messi represents the uniqueness of the world of soccer. He came to Barcelona at age 13 and made his professional debut at 17. There he was recognized as the greatest player in the world, winning individual awards and leading his team to championships in the Spanish LaLiga and UEFA Champions League. He also found time to play for Argentina in world events and led his country to the Olympic gold medal in 2008. Among the highest paid athletes in the world, Messi is known for his philanthropic endeavors. He has established a personal foundation and actively works with UNICEF in support of their worldwide activities.
FC Barcelona is a unique organization in part because of its structure, as the citizens of Barcelona are the team’s true owners. Their motto is “More than a club,” which means that they are part of the political and social structure of the autonomous Catalonian community. Barcelona has gone from a regional club to a world powerhouse with sustained excellence and innovative strategies both on and off the field.
Kuper traces Barcelona’s success to its Dutch coach, Johan Cruyff, who employed an attacking strategy, known as “total football,” when others relied on far more conservative tactics. They also didn’t believe in stereotyping athletes based on their physical appearance, which allowed them to recruit and develop the undersized Messi.
THE BARCELONA COMPLEX is a wonderful book about sports and team building. Even if you think that soccer is a boring game, you will enjoy this exhaustive and detailed sports classic.
Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
While American sports teams have their own dynasties and loyal fans, a strong argument can be made that the FC Barcelona soccer club from Spain’s Catalonia region is the most famous sports franchise in the world. I had the pleasure of visiting their stadium, Camp Nou, several years ago. I walked through their museum and saw for myself the rich history of the team, their legendary coaches and managers, and their greatest player, Lionel Messi.
Simon Kuper was granted access to FC Barcelona’s staff and offices, and has provided a deep study of the organization. But even this examination finds itself behind the curve of sweeping events. It was published within days of Messi leaving the team after 21 years because of their complicated financial situation.
Readers should not be dissuaded from the book because they think it is only for soccer fans. Kuper is an accomplished writer who places the sport in a world context, and the insights presented here have application far beyond soccer. Whether you enjoy sports or are interested in how winning organizations achieve their success, you will find a treasure trove of fascinating material in THE BARCELONA COMPLEX.
In many ways, the Argentinian-born Messi represents the uniqueness of the world of soccer. He came to Barcelona at age 13 and made his professional debut at 17. There he was recognized as the greatest player in the world, winning individual awards and leading his team to championships in the Spanish LaLiga and UEFA Champions League. He also found time to play for Argentina in world events and led his country to the Olympic gold medal in 2008. Among the highest paid athletes in the world, Messi is known for his philanthropic endeavors. He has established a personal foundation and actively works with UNICEF in support of their worldwide activities.
FC Barcelona is a unique organization in part because of its structure, as the citizens of Barcelona are the team’s true owners. Their motto is “More than a club,” which means that they are part of the political and social structure of the autonomous Catalonian community. Barcelona has gone from a regional club to a world powerhouse with sustained excellence and innovative strategies both on and off the field.
Kuper traces Barcelona’s success to its Dutch coach, Johan Cruyff, who employed an attacking strategy, known as “total football,” when others relied on far more conservative tactics. They also didn’t believe in stereotyping athletes based on their physical appearance, which allowed them to recruit and develop the undersized Messi.
THE BARCELONA COMPLEX is a wonderful book about sports and team building. Even if you think that soccer is a boring game, you will enjoy this exhaustive and detailed sports classic.
Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
April 21, 2022
A remarkably insightful examination of the development, management, and mismanagement of a top performing professional sports team from one who has spent considerable time on the ground with them. I actually entertained the idea of giving it a full five stars, and though it's a bit too discursive for me to go that far, this is a book that is clearly more than the sum of its parts. While you probably do have to have some interest in soccer, or at least in professional sports, to enjoy the book, I myself am no particular soccer (sorry, football) fan and still found it fantastic. There are plenty of lessons to be learned here about the nature of innovation, the effects of globalization, the management of talent, and the transcendent abilities of genius.
Basically, the book is broken into four parts:
I: The historical development of the style of Barcelona's play, to which Kuper credits the influence of the soccer great Johan Cruyff. The attacking, positionally based play which would come bring Barcelona such success even after Cruyff's departure as player and coach is designed by Kuper simply as Cruyffism. It also introduces the ties between Barcelona and the Catalan independence movement, a theme which is woven throughout the book (though Kuper, a Dutchman, has no horse in the race himself).
II: The components of modern Barcelon's tremendous success, from the role of the training schools (the Masias), the genius of Messi, and the tactics of Cruyffism. As a teacher and coach myself, I most appreciated the first of these chapters, on the relationship-focus of the Masias - in contrast to the gruff authoritarianism that had long characterized the training academies of other clubs.
III: Four standalone chapters on different aspects of everyday life as a soccer star. These may seem a bit of place, but I found them highly useful in understanding the psychology underlying it all. It also helps make sense of...
IV: The downfall of the club, as Messi came to dominate the club's entire functioning - while becoming increasingly unhappy. (And so since the book's publication has left for Paris.)
I had intended to make further notes, but my 5 year old nephew is now literally breathing down my neck and (with some justification) wondering why I am not entertaining him, so guess I'd better cut it short. May add to this later, but in the meantime if you have any interest in sport at all I would be surprised if you didn't get a lot out of reading this. Recommended.
4.5/5
Basically, the book is broken into four parts:
I: The historical development of the style of Barcelona's play, to which Kuper credits the influence of the soccer great Johan Cruyff. The attacking, positionally based play which would come bring Barcelona such success even after Cruyff's departure as player and coach is designed by Kuper simply as Cruyffism. It also introduces the ties between Barcelona and the Catalan independence movement, a theme which is woven throughout the book (though Kuper, a Dutchman, has no horse in the race himself).
II: The components of modern Barcelon's tremendous success, from the role of the training schools (the Masias), the genius of Messi, and the tactics of Cruyffism. As a teacher and coach myself, I most appreciated the first of these chapters, on the relationship-focus of the Masias - in contrast to the gruff authoritarianism that had long characterized the training academies of other clubs.
III: Four standalone chapters on different aspects of everyday life as a soccer star. These may seem a bit of place, but I found them highly useful in understanding the psychology underlying it all. It also helps make sense of...
IV: The downfall of the club, as Messi came to dominate the club's entire functioning - while becoming increasingly unhappy. (And so since the book's publication has left for Paris.)
I had intended to make further notes, but my 5 year old nephew is now literally breathing down my neck and (with some justification) wondering why I am not entertaining him, so guess I'd better cut it short. May add to this later, but in the meantime if you have any interest in sport at all I would be surprised if you didn't get a lot out of reading this. Recommended.
4.5/5
February 10, 2025
Absolutely outstanding read. World class. Molt bé. I usually am not much a nonfiction lad, but when an Atlético-loving book clerk recommended this to me I had to give it a go.
Kuper does an excellent job of telling the history of the club from its inception, through Cruyff, Messi, and to now. Cruyff is especially highlighted for his innovation, skill, and ultimately laziness/stubbornness. All of these analogies are somewhat carried over to Messi, although the later insults to a lesser extent.
What I found most interesting was the comprehensive summary of the club’s financial turmoils, transfer market woes, and management blunders. Kuper sets the scene early, discussing how Barça is unique in how it is controlled essentially by a local elite, and then explains how this group and its single-mindedness was largely responsible for the club’s “downfall.”
Downfall is in quotes here because I do think that Kuper overstates what he essentially refers to as the death of Barça. It is true that the post-Messi financial troubles and lack of results was and is very real, but to include lines like “I suspect this story is now ending” feels a tad too extreme. I think a lot of this too harsh opinion is formed out of a lack in faith in la Masia. As we see now with the likes of Gavi, Lamine Yamal, Cubarsí, Casado, Fermín, etc., the club remains in good hands with the youth cohort. Barcelona, in my own (extremely important and relevant) opinion, will continue to find ways to succeed, whether it be through la masia or sheer monetary investment, even if they took a major hit after the days of Xavi, busquets, iniesta, pep, MSN, and the likes.
Regardless, the insight that Kuper has into the club, it’s administrative intricacies, the big name and lesser known players throughout history, and the general aura of Barça and its “més que un club” mentality is top notch. Would highly recommend to anyone vaguely interested in soccer or Messi or just anyone who is cool at all honestly.
Kuper does an excellent job of telling the history of the club from its inception, through Cruyff, Messi, and to now. Cruyff is especially highlighted for his innovation, skill, and ultimately laziness/stubbornness. All of these analogies are somewhat carried over to Messi, although the later insults to a lesser extent.
What I found most interesting was the comprehensive summary of the club’s financial turmoils, transfer market woes, and management blunders. Kuper sets the scene early, discussing how Barça is unique in how it is controlled essentially by a local elite, and then explains how this group and its single-mindedness was largely responsible for the club’s “downfall.”
Downfall is in quotes here because I do think that Kuper overstates what he essentially refers to as the death of Barça. It is true that the post-Messi financial troubles and lack of results was and is very real, but to include lines like “I suspect this story is now ending” feels a tad too extreme. I think a lot of this too harsh opinion is formed out of a lack in faith in la Masia. As we see now with the likes of Gavi, Lamine Yamal, Cubarsí, Casado, Fermín, etc., the club remains in good hands with the youth cohort. Barcelona, in my own (extremely important and relevant) opinion, will continue to find ways to succeed, whether it be through la masia or sheer monetary investment, even if they took a major hit after the days of Xavi, busquets, iniesta, pep, MSN, and the likes.
Regardless, the insight that Kuper has into the club, it’s administrative intricacies, the big name and lesser known players throughout history, and the general aura of Barça and its “més que un club” mentality is top notch. Would highly recommend to anyone vaguely interested in soccer or Messi or just anyone who is cool at all honestly.
January 4, 2025
The rare book (and writer) who can holistically look at a major sporting phenomena -- the meteoric rise (and now stumble) of FC Barcelona -- and bring to it all the intellectual seriousness (but also lively readability) it deserves.
The best parts are his insider descriptions of the sociology of Barca (a somewhat democratic, "socis" membership-led club, quite unlike the corporatized English and American sports franchise model), it's long (and mostly uneventful) history until the arrival of the Michels-Cryuffian "total football" revolution that found its complete expression during the Guardiola-Messi-La-Masia era and made Barca into the culture-defining phenomena (also the first sporting team of any kind to have > $1B in annual revenue) it became.
The lucid descriptions of it's philosophy (of "creating space"), tactics (passing triangles, high-press and recovery), and training ("rondos") that have since taken over world football are very valuable (to aficionados).
Obvious comparisons to CLR James's 'Beyond a Boundary' (on the rise of West Indian cricket and consciousness, but swapping out the Marxist lens with the necessary modern corporate one).
The best parts are his insider descriptions of the sociology of Barca (a somewhat democratic, "socis" membership-led club, quite unlike the corporatized English and American sports franchise model), it's long (and mostly uneventful) history until the arrival of the Michels-Cryuffian "total football" revolution that found its complete expression during the Guardiola-Messi-La-Masia era and made Barca into the culture-defining phenomena (also the first sporting team of any kind to have > $1B in annual revenue) it became.
The lucid descriptions of it's philosophy (of "creating space"), tactics (passing triangles, high-press and recovery), and training ("rondos") that have since taken over world football are very valuable (to aficionados).
Obvious comparisons to CLR James's 'Beyond a Boundary' (on the rise of West Indian cricket and consciousness, but swapping out the Marxist lens with the necessary modern corporate one).
March 27, 2025
I will preface this review by saying that I am someone who had a FCB flag hanging in my first apartment and currently have a figurine from Camp Nou on my desk at work, so it is no surprise I gravitated towards this book.
That said, even if soccer or sports aren't your thing, there was a lot of interesting history weaved in with a character study of what makes certain athletes and teams successful. I felt like I gained a ton of insight on what makes people who are the BEST at their jobs tick and how it even comes to be. A huge focus of the book was the academy and the development and experiences of young talent.
The history and politics of Catalonia and the Catalan people were touched on in a meaningful way focusing still on how that has shaped the club.
That said, even if soccer or sports aren't your thing, there was a lot of interesting history weaved in with a character study of what makes certain athletes and teams successful. I felt like I gained a ton of insight on what makes people who are the BEST at their jobs tick and how it even comes to be. A huge focus of the book was the academy and the development and experiences of young talent.
The history and politics of Catalonia and the Catalan people were touched on in a meaningful way focusing still on how that has shaped the club.
March 22, 2022
Extensive history of Barca - the rise and the fall. Always felt an infinity with Barca, through their use of UNICEF over cashing in on sponsorship, possibly the best team of all time of the early 2010’s and of course, Messi. This book dives into so much more than that - like Barca before Cruyff, the inner workings of the club and their socis (this club really does/did seem to be the only one to be truly fan run) and the Masia. A good read for anyone interested in football and how a club like Barca truly runs.
July 3, 2022
Insightful, eye-opening and a little too fast at the end
This book is a must to all Barça's followers, especially those abroad.
The first 2/3's are great. A piece of history that set's the fundation for the biggest run in the history of sports.
It explains in deep the intricacies of the game in the setup of Catalonia and Spain, and it is very well written.
But then the last third, arguably the most relevant for me at least, felt a little rushed, almost nothing that you didn't read on newspapers already.
All in all, this is still a big recommend from my POV.
This book is a must to all Barça's followers, especially those abroad.
The first 2/3's are great. A piece of history that set's the fundation for the biggest run in the history of sports.
It explains in deep the intricacies of the game in the setup of Catalonia and Spain, and it is very well written.
But then the last third, arguably the most relevant for me at least, felt a little rushed, almost nothing that you didn't read on newspapers already.
All in all, this is still a big recommend from my POV.
March 30, 2022
I retract yesterdays statement. I forgot how truly excellent this book is - I’ll be watching Barca all year bc of it. S/O for our tornado warning today that let me come home from school early and knock out half of it in a go.
November 22, 2024
The best book that’s ever written about a club that was the best at some point in time and how it fell down miserably.
Thankfully read this in 2024 - with Hansi Flick reviving my hope for the future❤️
Thankfully read this in 2024 - with Hansi Flick reviving my hope for the future❤️
January 9, 2025
1 of the best sports books I’ve ever read. It has taken me over a year to finish but blame that on me not remembering that I had a kindle looool.
February 1, 2025
Surprisingly juicy for a football book, with plenty of inside accounts from those close to Messi—who almost never speaks.
With one hand, it nurtures the dream of football as pure artistry, fairytales, and teamwork—the way I saw it when I was 10, untouched by its ugly economics.
But with the other, it tears down the curtain and lays bare the ruthless machinery of capitalism churning behind it all.
Still, love my footie, me. Cruyffian or otherwise. Up the Goodreads Reds.
With one hand, it nurtures the dream of football as pure artistry, fairytales, and teamwork—the way I saw it when I was 10, untouched by its ugly economics.
But with the other, it tears down the curtain and lays bare the ruthless machinery of capitalism churning behind it all.
Still, love my footie, me. Cruyffian or otherwise. Up the Goodreads Reds.
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