Rosell hails Barca nursery

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell believs the Catalans develop the best players in the world at their youth academy.

Players such as Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Carles Puyol all came through the ranks of La Masia, and Rosell has made it clear that the Camp Nou club have made a deliberate choice to invest in the development of home-grown talent.

“To have good players you can either buy them from outside the club or develop them at home. We’ve clearly opted for the latter option,” Rosell said at the Aspire4Sport conference in Qatar.

“At La Masia, we are producing the best players in the world. We are more than happy to pay them well, because that would mean they are the best players.”

Rosell then went on to say that it is Barcelona’s ambition to retain their spot at the summit of the global game.

“Our objective is to remain the world’s best club. The challenge is to maintain our current position, both on and off the field,” he said.

Barcelona currently sit second on the La Liga table, having taken 25 points from 11 games.

They return to domestic action on Saturday when they host Real Zaragoza.