"Barcelona's treasure" leaves Conte amazed: They are doing something exceptional

Getty Images Sport Oct 12, 2026 02:11+02:00 Translated by "I was surprised by this player" The Italian coach admitted his admiration for the work the Catalan club does with young talents during a lengthy interview with "The Athletic". Having coached Napoli, Inter, Chelsea and Italy, he also fancies a trip to "La Masia" to see Barcelona's youth set-up up close.

That academy is the treasure chest Barcelona keep raiding to ease their financial troubles. Those problems have badly restricted their ability to complete new signings, particularly in recent years. Barcelona's treasure: hard work behind the scenes Conte said, during the interview of which Mundo Deportivo published extracts, speaking about Barcelona: "They are doing something exceptional." "When you see these young lads from La Masia blending in so smoothly, at 18 years of age, with a team like Barcelona, and in front of 100,000 spectators, playing football with such ease, you realise the scale of the hard work being done behind the scenes in the youth set-up, because they work in complete harmony with the first-team coach," the Italian coach added.

Five Italian league titles and a Premier League crown sit on Conte's CV. He went on: "I would very much like to visit their youth set-up. They have a clear and well-defined structure, one that is perfectly aligned with the first team." Read also: "What a disgrace": after Marcelo and Gavi, Vinicius's sending-off exposes the double standards of Spain's referees Espart surprise One moment from a Barcelona game this season stuck with the Italian coach: the name of young left-back Xavi Espart, a player he'd never heard of.

Conte explained: "I was watching a Barcelona match, and I heard a name I didn't know, that of the young left-back Xavi Espart. The DAZN commentator said something like: this player featured in only four matches last season, each lasting just 10 minutes, and they wanted to loan him out this year." He added: "Despite that, he was in the starting line-up, and he was playing with astonishing ease." And there was more.

"Anthony Gordon was playing on the wing, and Espart was moving inside. He created a goal and showed great character." Read also: Investigation into the killing of a motorcyclist: what is Enrique's daughter's connection?