Barcelona is apparently extending its search for the next Messi deep into the United States, according to a statement made by the club.
The club is has reached agreements to open several FCBEscolas across Japan and the United states, in cities like Orlando and Chicago.
“The Board has approved two agreements for the creation of FCBEscola campuses in the United States and Japan. For the United States, it is an agreement that will 20 campuses across the nation including Orlando, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and Kansas, between March and August this year. Regarding Japan, eleven campuses will be set up between May this year and April of next year.”
An FCBEscola is an academy that follows the FC Barcelona model aimed at boys and girls ages six to 11. Outside of football, the academy teaches these children “to deal successfully with sporting challenges in the future, while also teaching them the values that are so representative of FC Barcelona: respect, effort, ambition, teamwork, humility.”
Photo: @jmbartomeu | Twitter
This news will no doubt make many Americans happy, as the US has a sense of manifest destiny about its footballing future. Many people it is inevitable that the country will produce multiple world-class players, and these FCBEscolas should help move that right along.
That being said, if the next Messi really does turn out to be American, you can be sure that he won’t play in the MLS. All of the best talent that these academies see will surely go straight over to FC Barcelona before the MLS can get a whiff of anything this side of a loan deal.
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