Founded on 1 August 1934 as Societat Esportiva Industrial Espanya, the club was originally the sports team of the factory with the same name, and its shirt featured blue and white vertical stripes.

Two years later, his successor Sandro Rosell returned to the previous denomination,[1] until Laporta changed again the name back to Barcelona Atlètic during his second presidential term in 2022.

[2] Former club player Luis Enrique succeeded Pep Guardiola as team manager in the summer of 2008, as the latter was appointed main squad coach.

[3] In 2009–10 the club finished second in Group III and returned to division two after an absence of 11 years; this was followed by a third-place in the following campaign, but the team was not eligible for promotion.

It is an ancient country residence built in 1702 and once Camp Nou was inaugurated in 1957, the building was remodelled and extended for use as the club's social headquarters.

In the following decades the academy forged several players that would later appear for both the main squad and the Spain national team, Guillermo Amor, Albert Ferrer, Iván de la Peña, Josep Guardiola, Carles Puyol, Gerard López, Xavi, Víctor Valdés, and Andrés Iniesta being amongst the most prominent.

Lionel Messi is also an alumnus of La Masia and is one of the most famous players to play for Barcelona as well as the Argentina national football team.