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This region makes up 16% of Spain's population.

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The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth century, but the pattern of growth was extremely uneven due to large-scale internal migration from the rural interior to the industrial cities, a phenomenon which happened later than in other Western European countries. No fewer than eleven of Spain's fifty provinces saw an absolute decline in population over the century.

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Mr Mas was rebuffed by Mr Rajoy when he asked for greater fiscal powers in 2012.

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Spain's rapid return to democracy after the death of dictator general Francisco Franco in 1975 brought devolution for Catalonia.

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Turnouts for Independent votes are very low. As much as 2.2 million instead of the usual 5.4 million.

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Catalonia

Catalonia is a region of northeastern Spain: it's home to Barcelona, 7.5 million people, and a proud tradition of independence dating back nearly 1,000 years.

Although officially part of Spain since the state was created, the region has its own language and cultural identity. Its levels of autonomy - like those of other Spanish regions - have varied over time.

During the 20th century dictatorship of General Franco, the culture, language and identity of Catalonia was suppressed, but the region enjoyed greater freedom when he died in 1975.

In 2006, a landmark vote secured even greater autonomy for Catalonia, including enhanced judiciary and taxation powers. This was reversed in 2010 when a Spanish court ruled some of the freedoms unlawful - and more than a million people held a march in Barcelona in protest.

Why independence?

Several reasons. Catalonia's distinct culture and language mean many people don't feel Spanish, and the legacy of Franco's oppression only adds to the view that the region is ruled from the outside.

The case is also economic: supporters of independence say the region gives far more to the Spanish economy than it gets back, and believe Catalonia pays too much money into central government and gets little in return.

Accounting for around 16% of Spain's 46 million population, it contributes about 20% of the country's GDP, produces one third of its exports and receives one third of its foreign investment.

But support for independence is by no means universal: while recent months have seen hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets demanding independence, anti-secessionist demonstrations have filled Barcelona with a sea of Spanish flags, too.

That was revealed in the referendum, which re-opened the independence debate.

On 1 October around 2.2 million people in Catalonia voted on whether to secede from Spain. More than 90% of those who turned up were in favour of independence, and celebrations filled Barcelona's streets as the region's leader, Carles Puigdemont, formally declared independence a few weeks later.

But not everyone was happy.

Turnout for the referendum was about 40%. The poor showing was attributed in part to the Spanish government defining the vote as unconstitutional, which turned many people against the referendum and was followed by voter suppression by the Spanish police.

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But it was also due to more widespread objections to the referendum, which many felt was divisive and illegitimate. Some polls identify the number of people who support unity with Spain as a majority - a group who refer to themselves as the "silent majority" and say they're marginalised by the vocal secessionists.

Madrid's view

For Madrid, Catalan independence seems unthinkable.

The Spanish government - headed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy - has rejected Mr Puigdemont's request for negotiations, insisting the referendum was illegal and unconstitutional.

Although it supports some regional autonomy, the Spanish constitution says Spain cannot be broken up, and Article 155 gives the state loosely defined powers, when approved by the senate, to act against regions that attempt to secure independence.

"The most important thing is to be within the frame of the Spanish constitution," Spanish foreign minister Ildefonso Castro said. "You can disagree with the law, but you cannot disobey the law. If you disobey the law, you become an outlaw."

Madrid's hard line was reflected during the election and what followed it.

On 1 October, following a court ruling that the vote was illegal, Spanish police seized ballot boxes and clashed with voters at polling stations as they attempted to prevent it vote taking place.

The Catalan health ministry reported that 900 people were injured - though much fewer were thought to have been hospitalised - prompting an international outcry.

Almost immediately after the region declared independence, Mr Rajoy imposed direct rule on Catalonia, dissolving its parliament, dismissing officials and suspending the region's autonomy.

Several high-ranking members of the Catalan cabinet were also detained in Spain, under charges including sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds, while Carles Puigdemont and four other leaders fled to Brussels.

They remain there as the region holds elections.

The vote was declared by Mr Rajoy, who says it is necessary to decide a new 135-member Catalan parliament in order to restore democratic rule in the face of "arbitrary and excluding" decisions that have led the people of Catalonia down a "blind road".

Europe's dilemma

One reason the referendum caused waves is the fear that it could provide fuel for similar independence movements elsewhere - a "domino effect" of separatism across the globe.

Catalonia certainly isn't alone in its desire for independence: In Spain, the Basque country and Galicia are home to secessionist movements, while some Corsicans want to secede from France.

And in the UK - of course - the Scottish independence movement still looms large.

And for European leaders - who rejected Catalan leaders' call for intervention, insisting the issue was an internal matter - the possible consequences of Catalan independence are uncomfortable to contemplate.

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Catalonia independence: What you need to know

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Catalonia is a region of northeastern Spain: it's home to Barcelona, 7.5 million people, and a proud tradition of independence dating back nearly 1,000 years. Although officially part of Spain since the state was created, the region has its own language and cultural identity.

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Madrid was being favored by the dictorial, centralist regime.

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On first glance, the crowd seems fairly homogenous. Yes, the majority are wearing maroon and blue stripes, while one noisy corner tucked into the top of Camp Nou is decked out in white. But the voices sound similar, the faces nearly blend together. At first it's difficult to believe the spectators are divided by 125 years of history, their political legacies positioning them at opposite ends of a spectrum. It is only when you focus that you notice the flags being waved don't bear the Spanish shield; that the rippling chants have a dissonance that sends them off-key before finding your ear.

Welcome to the home of FC Barcelona, a club known not only for its success on the field but its determination to speak beyond the pitch. Barça is an emblem of Catalonia, a region that, while technically under the authority of Spain, speaks its own language, flies its own flag, tells its own history, and has long sought greater autonomy from Madrid. Such a stance creates tension that ripples outward, reaching the playing field as well. So when Real Madrid - a club bestowed not only with the royal emblem, but seen as representative of the unity of Spain - comes to town, the flames of rivalry are stoked by politics as well as sport.

MORE: The best and worst of La Liga will be on display in this Sunday's Clásico

El Clásico is a rivalry based not on proximity but rather on distance. Not the distance between cities - Barcelona and Madrid are less than four hundred miles apart, a mere drop in today's globalized world - but the gulf between what the clubs represent. Both might be committed to chasing titles and willing to part with large wads of cash to fund those pursuits, but when it comes to history, there's a great, gaping schism separates the two.

If you think the rivalry seems heated now, with Real Madrid just a point behind Barcelona in La Liga's standings and Lionel Messi battling with Cristiano Ronaldo for the "World's Greatest" title, just imagine what it was like in the decades under General Francisco Franco (right). Real Madrid, already Barcelona's main rival, was used as yet another weapon in Franco's amory, a way in which he could break down Catalonia. During Spain's Civil War, Barça was prevented from flying the Catalonian flag inside the stadium or using Catalan in its club documents.

While Franco reinforced those prohibitions, he also went further, using the actual game to humiliate the Catalans. The best example might be the 1943 semifinals of the Copa del Rey, renamed the Copa del Generalísimo during Franco's dictatorship. Barcelona held a 3-0 win going into the second leg at Madrid, despite what the team - and fans - felt was some pretty biased refereeing. Those fans were then portrayed as enemies of the Spanish state, whistling at the officials rather than railing against the dictatorship. Perhaps that's what set Franco on edge. His Director of State Security paid a visit to the Barcelona dressing room before kickoff, and, according to Jimmy Burns in his book Barça, told the players, "Do not forget that some of you are only playing because of the generosity of the regime that has forgiven you for your lack of patriotism." The visitors ultimately lost the match 11-1.

It's hardly an exaggeration to say Barcelona forged its identity out of persecution. But the club, as it stands now, cannot suffer from much of an inferiority complex. Although its 22 La Liga titles might "pale" in comparison to Real Madrid's 32, it's Barça that has been more successful over the past decade, taking six of the last 10 domestic championships. The star-studded squad is more than a match for los Galácticos, and the club is nearly as rich as its rival.

But Barcelona the city, Barcelona the capital of Catalonia, retains its need to fight its way out of the shadow of a more powerful entity. Since the end of the dictatorship, Catalonia has recovered much of its autonomy, including the right to use its language. Yet it is still not permitted to govern itself, or even hold an official referendum on whether its citizens would like independence, despite an unofficial vote last November showing more than 80 percent are in favor. With Catalonia caught between a nation and a state, FC Barcelona remains a vital symbol for its homeland. The club continues to promote Catalan language, culture and symbols (including the independence referendum), continuously shaping an identity not just on the soccer field but throughout the region. In Catalonia, it truly is " Més que un club. "

Then there's Real Madrid. The club had little choice when becoming Franco's favored one practically overnight, yet it is still perceived as the club of the Spanish state, a symbol of a former dictatorial regime. Under Franco, los blancos represented the virtues of Spain, and the club's success spread that message beyond the country's borders. Real Madrid, with its still shiny décima, continues to bring glory to Spain. The club is still privileged enough to receive benefits from the government, although if a more left-leaning party takes power in November's elections, that privilege may begin to wane.

However, it is altogether too simplistic to portray El Real as a club of the far-right. It has its share of fan groups leaning that direction, specifically the Ultras Sur, who have previously displayed fascist symbols in the Bernabéu. The club itself, though, is taking action to diminish the group's importance, even banning some of its more violent members indefinitely. A more accurate characterization of Real Madrid might be as a club of the moneyed elite, with many of older, rich and conservative citizens of the city counting themselves among its fans.

In the days of Franco, many Real Madrid fans viewed those of Barcelona as "separatist scum." That rhetoric has diminished, but with the recent Catalonian push toward greater independence, the pride most Barça fans feel in the club's political and social actions remains. While most watching from afar simply want to take in the sights and sounds of some of the world's best players, many of the culés that will fill Camp Nou will be spurred on by the underlying currents of history.

A win in El Clásico means bragging rights. This season, it might even mean a title. But for Barcelona, it's also a reminder that Catalonia won't be silenced.

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Politics Is Still Central to Barcelona's Rivalry With Real Madrid

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On first glance, the crowd seems fairly homogenous. Yes, the majority are wearing maroon and blue stripes, while one noisy corner tucked into the top of Camp Nou is decked out in white. But the voices sound similar, the faces nearly blend together.

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Arrived in Barcelona in 1973

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To read more about Johan Cruyff, the player, trainer and his accomplishments, please visit the section Johan Cruyff or follow the World of Johan Cruyff at Twitter and Facebook.

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Johan Cruyff passed away on March 24th, 2016, at the age of 68. After his retirement from playing and coaching Johan Cruyff initiated the Cruyff Foundation, Cruyff Institute, Cruyff Classics, Cruyff Football and Cruyff Library.

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supposed to be a convert but he switched sides and became a Madrid player in 2000.

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Pure quality

Position: Midfielder
Matches played: 163 official matches
Goals: 38
Portuguese International: 127 matches

Figo was peerless at dribbling and taking on opponents, and his perfect assists were a luxury for all of the forwards who played with him. He was a leader on the pitch who helped Real Madrid to win honours and further their legendary status. Along with Hierro, Raúl, Zidane and Ronaldo (enlazar fichas), among others, he was part of a true dream team.

From the very beginning of his career at Sporting Lisbon, it was clear that he was going to be a star and he was extremely successful at all of the clubs he played for. He arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu from Barcelona in the summer of 2000 as the club's record signing at that time. He gave some truly superb performances for that all-conquering Real Madrid team and helped them to win seven trophies, including their ninth European Cup in Glasgow. Figo did not only win collective honours but also picked up several individual awards such as the Ballon d´Or, which he received as a Madrid player.

He is still the most capped Portuguese player and with his national team he played in two World Cups in Korea and Japan (2002) and Germany (206) where he reached the semi-finals. He almost enjoyed a historic victory for his country in the European Championship held in Portugal, but they were beaten by Greece in the final. Figo finished his career at Inter Milan, where he added to his already impressive list of honours.

Honours

1 Champions League
1 Intercontinental Cup
1 European Super Cup
2 Ligas
2 Spanish Super Cups
1 FIFA World Player
1 Ballon d'Or

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Position: Midfielder Matches played: 163 official matches Goals: 38 Portuguese International: 127 matches Figo was peerless at dribbling and taking on opponents, and his perfect assists were a luxury for all of the forwards who played with him. He was a leader on the pitch who helped Real Madrid to win honours and further their legendary status.

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Madrid has been the more dominate team in the past and has never walked away from reminding Barcelona of their superiority.

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Cristiano Ronaldo says success with Real Madrid is due to self-belief

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Cristiano Ronaldo says his belief that no player is superior to him is the key to his unprecedented success.

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Barca became an obsession for the people.

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The suburbs stretching west of Barcelona are dark and quiet on a recent evening. But on one brightly lit hillside, floodlights illuminate perfectly manicured fields, showing a blur of color and action. About 125 boys, some as young as 11, race back and forth across the grass, kicking footballs in a complex choreography of attack and defense.

If this were any other suburb, it might be a regular after-school sports activity. But these are no ordinary kids. In their sweatpants and jerseys, they are here for one purpose: to break into the exceedingly rarefied global industry of top-flight football (or soccer, to use the American word). The boys have been handpicked by professional scouts and plucked from their small clubs across Spain and sometimes abroad. Then, like valuable orchids, they've been planted in La Masia, the training academy of Football Club Barcelona-one of the richest and most beloved professional sports franchises anywhere in the world. When I ask which boy could be the next Lionel Messi-Barcelona's superstar, and some would argue the best footballer in history-a staff member points to a lanky 11-year-old in neon-orange cleats, darting across the field. He tells me the boy is from a modest North African immigrant family in Barcelona and destined for stardom. "He is one of the best in Spain," he crows.

To be the best in football is the dream of countless millions around the world-a measure of the powerful allure of the most global sport on the planet, with children and adults from the U.S. to Uganda watching their favorite teams playing in packed stadiums hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Among the elite clubs, few rank with Barça, as FC Barcelona is commonly known. More than 100 million people follow Barça on Facebook and tens of millions more on Twitter. Barça has cultivated that mammoth following in part through its intensely colorful history. Its slogan is Més que un club, "More than a club." And FC Barcelona fights not only to win league titles-it has won Spain's La Liga two dozen times and many European championships-but also to maintain its unique culture within Spain's semiautonomous region of Catalonia, which has battled for its separate rights from Madrid for more than a century. Through all that, Barça has kept millions glued to its televised matches, thanks to the fast-paced style it developed in the 1980s, dubbed tiki-taka, in which players rapidly pass the ball as they swap positions. The question now is, Can Barça retain its uniqueness, in an industry that is ever more focused on big money?

The business of global football is humongous and still growing fast. More than 3 billion people watched Germany beat Argentina in the final of the 2014 World Cup, run by FIFA, the international football body. That's more than 30 times greater than the number that watched the Super Bowl in February. The viewership will almost certainly be gargantuan again for this summer's monthlong World Cup in Russia, which opens in Moscow on June 14 and includes 32 national teams from around the globe. And that's despite the fact that the U.S., one of the sport's fastest-growing markets, failed to qualify. No matter: Stars like Barça's Messi, who is from Argentina, are global brands. In fact, throughout the year, every year, it is professional teams like Barça that command the giant money and audiences-and both are soaring.

Now, after a century of fervent local pride, Barcelona is aiming to become the first club of any sport on the planet to earn 1 billion euros ($1.23 billion) in revenue a year, perhaps as soon as 2020. Last year, the world's top three football teams-Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Barcelona-brought in combined revenues of around $2.5 billion, thanks to rising TV-rights deals with Europe's football leagues and sponsorship deals signed by the individual clubs, according to the annual Deloitte "Football Money League" report published in January. All three ranked ahead of the NFL's biggest revenue generator, the Dallas Cowboys, which had $700 million in sales last year. Elite clubs like Barcelona "are the top revenue-generating sports [franchises] in the world," says Austin Houlihan, a director at Deloitte's Sports Business Group in Manchester, England.

But the gaudy numbers mask some festering problems. TV viewership is slipping in parts of the world, with more and more people live-streaming matches on their phones. Meanwhile, top players' salaries are rocketing up so fast that they have reached sums thought unimaginable less than a year ago.

Both factors trap elite clubs in a continual hunt for money: The harder they compete for the very top rankings, the more money they need just to stay on top. With a tiny handful of teams scrambling to sign the world's best players, there is a growing gap between the few, like Barça, with enough money to compete at the highest level, and the masses below them. For the 2016-17 season, Barça generated 648 million euros ($706.7 million) in revenue, according to Deloitte, a healthy 25% increase over its total from five years earlier. (Barcelona itself reported 682 million euros in revenue, but Deloitte's estimate strips out factors like foreign-exchange earnings.)

"If we want to be successful and if we want to have a club that is going to be sustainable, we will need that 1 billion euros in 2020," says FC Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu, 55, sitting in his executive suite in Camp Nou, Barça's famous headquarters, which includes Europe's biggest football stadium, with 99,500 seats. Bartomeu says giant revenues are needed simply "to stay competitive."

Those big-business imperatives are a sharp departure from Barça's traditional identity. The club has prided itself, since its founding in 1899, as Catalonia's scrappy counterpoint to its bitter rival in the capital, Real Madrid-a living embodiment of Spain's fierce political tensions. "We know we are not only representing Barcelona, we are representing Catalonia," Gerard Piqué, the team's star center-forward, tells me. A Barcelona native, Piqué, like Messi, began playing in the La Masia academy at age 13. "We have to compete with all the other clubs that are investing, that are offering much more money," says Piqué, 31, who signed a new four-year contract in January.
Read our Q&A with Pique titled FC Barcelona's Gerard Piqué Talks World Cup, Barça Future.
In order to keep the big money flowing, Barça has already compromised some cherished values. In 2011 it became the last major football club to sell the rights to put logos on its team jerseys, signing an estimated $45-million-a-year deal with the Qatar Foundation. The Japanese company Rakuten now pays around $68 million a year to have its name on Barça's uniforms and last year Bartomeu worked out a lucrative long-term deal with Nike. Barça is also negotiating with corporations for naming rights on its soon-to-be expanded stadium and sports complex, which it expects to open in about four years, with 105,000 seats-a deal that could be worth about 300 million euros over 20 years.

The growing worry among some fans and industry executives is that clubs might increasingly struggle to keep pace with the financial demands. "It is not real, and it is not sustainable," says Jaume Roures, CEO of MediaPro, the television and communications company headquartered in Barcelona.

If you're looking for a tipping point in the business of global football, it was surely the day last August when Paris Saint-Germain, or PSG, bought the star Brazilian striker Neymar from Barça for 222 million euros (more than $270 million) in the biggest transfer in football history. That sum was Neymar's "buyout clause"-the figure, written into his 2013 contract, which another club would need to pay Barça to acquire him. At the time the contract was written, the figure seemed so outrageous that Barça felt sure he would never leave. "We thought nobody would ever pay this," Bartomeu says. "But somebody came and paid it."

In fact, Bartomeu had failed to foresee a major looming threat: the growing number of clubs that-unlike Barça-have virtually limitless funds to tap. PSG, for instance, is owned by Qatar Sports Investments, a sovereign fund of one of the richest countries in the world. Other deep-pocketed owners include the United Arab Emirates' Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who owns Manchester City, and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club.

Barça has faced scrutiny for its own tactics in procuring talent. Last year, Bartomeu and Neymar, among others, were ordered to stand trial for corruption in relation to Barcelona's deal in 2013 to acquire Neymar from his club team in Brazil. The case is still pending; Barça says it hopes to "reach an agreement before the trial."

The loss of Neymar to PSG touched off intense nervousness in Barça, who feared a raid on Messi-by far its most valuable asset. Hundreds of millions of fans watch Barça matches, in good part to see Messi sweep across the field and put the ball into the net, goal after goal. "The entire enterprise depends on Messi," says Santiago Giménez Blanco, the Barcelona editor of Spain's sports paper AS. What would happen if Messi, 30, moved to another club? "There would be civil war," Blanco says.

Deeply anxious about losing Messi, Barça signed a new contract with him last November, only five months after it had signed the previous one. The details are secret. But in January the German magazine Der Spiegel published documents it said originated from the club, showing that Messi will now earn more than 100 million euros a year. The new contract boosts Messi's buyout to 700 million euros, or some $866 million. "We were afraid somebody could come and pay Leo Messi's buyout clause," says Bartomeu.

Messi faced legal troubles of his own last year when he and his father were found guilty of tax evasion in Spain. The star's 21-month prison sentence was changed to a fine of $288,000, and his father was ordered to pay $222,000.

For all Bartomeu's fears, Barça has played a key role in the quickly rising inflation. Flush with 222 million euros from selling Neymar to PSG, Barça went on a spending spree last summer. It bought Ousmane Dembélé, a 20-year-old Frenchman, from the German club Borussia Dortmund for about 105 million euros-just one year after Dortmund had bought the young player from a French club for 15 million euros. And in January, Barcelona signed the Liverpool FC midfielder Philippe Coutinho for 160 million euros (about $200 million)-the second-biggest transfer in the sport's history, after Neymar just three months before.

To the Barça watchers, the purchase of both players suggested that the club was panicked. "They are not worth half of what they paid," says Josep Maria Minguella, a sports agent in Barcelona. The club's managers "felt betrayed and upset" by Neymar's departure, he says. "They were under a lot of pressure." Minguella is credited with securing Messi's initial commitment with Barça in 2001, after the Argentinian teen had arrived at the Barcelona academy. Since that time, Messi has come to define the club's reputation for snagging spectacular players-a reputation essential to attracting top players and generating corporate partnerships.

Already massively popular across Europe, Barça sees the U.S. as its major growth area. And in 2016 it opened a U.S. operation in Manhattan-New York lit up the Empire State Building in Barça's blue, red, and maroon colors to celebrate-putting the club closer to major U.S. sponsors. This spring it is opening a training academy in King's Park, N.Y., and Bartomeu says it plans to launch a women's soccer team next year.

Barça's roots are unquestioned, however. When Messi,Piqué, and the rest of the team make their way from the dressing room to the pitch before a match, they pass through a tunnel under the stadium. One of the last sights they see before sprinting on to the grass is a small chapel cut into the tunnel wall. There, calmly staring out at the players, is a replica of the Virgin of Montserrat, Catalonia's most famous religious icon and its patron saint, with Baby Jesus on her lap.

Who knows how many players pause for prayer? But the Virgin serves another purpose: She reminds the team of Barça's deep attachment to Catalonia and its long struggle for autonomy from Spain. "[FC] Barcelona is everything for Catalonia," says Piqué. "It is by far the most important institution in Catalonia," he says.

Bartomeu and the board of directors are unpaid, and about halfway through their six-year terms. (For his day job, Bartomeu is the CEO of Adelte, an engineering company specializing in passenger walkways.) All of the directors trace their Catalan roots back many generations. And their positions at Barça give them celebrity status in the region. "In Catalonia, to be on the board of FC Barcelona is more than an honor," says board vice president Manel Arroyo, also a business executive. "It is important you understand the sensibility of this club," he says. "It is being in connection with the country, with Catalonia, with all the elements around FC Barcelona, in all our history."

That was hardly on the minds of Barça's founders, when they organized the first pick-up game on Christmas Eve in 1899. Most were newcomers to the area. But in the decades following, people packed the stadium, chanting Catalonian songs and waving Catalonia's flag. Club president Josep Sunyol, a militant pro-independence Catalan, was assassinated during the Spanish Civil War, and is now memorialized in the club's museum, which draws about 2 million tourists a year. During Spain's 35-year dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Barça fans were banned from singing Catalan songs. That repression helped create the intense rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid, which continues today. "As far as Barça fans were concerned, Real Madrid was not just backed by Franco, it was Franco," writes the author Jimmy Burns in his book Barça: A People's Passion.

In recent months, those old tensions have exploded to the surface. Last October, Catalonia's leaders defied the Spanish government by holding an independence referendum; 90% of Catalans voted sí (although only 42% of registered voters went to the polls). Nearly six months later, sí banners are still hanging from windows and balconies across the city. Catalonia's leader Carles Puigdemont is holed up in exile in Brussels, after declaring Catalonia's unilateral independence from Madrid, and then fleeing possible arrest for sedition.

For Barça, the upheaval has been painful. Determined for the club to remain neutral, Bartomeu allowed a scheduled match to go ahead on the referendum day, at the very moment when Spanish police were storming polling stations and beating voters with truncheons. Canceling the game that day would have cost the team points in the Spanish league, La Liga. So Bartomeu ordered the game to be played with no spectators. "We wanted to show the world that something unique was happening," he says. But the decision enraged some members who believed Bartomeu should have supported the vote; two board members resigned. Impassioned and angry, Piqué tweeted to his 18 million followers before the referendum, "We will vote." And after the closed-door match, he wept on camera, saying it had been the worst day of his professional life, and threatening to quit the Spanish national team. "We are in a very difficult situation here," he tells me, months later. "Barcelona has to be a club that represents Catalonia more than ever now."

For all its hot politics, however, it is Barça's financial structure that will have a far bigger impact on how well it survives. The franchise is owned by 143,855 members-one of the few top clubs that operates this way. All Barça members over 18 vote for the president and the board, as well as on key issues at yearly assemblies.

Bartomeu describes the club as an exercise in popular democracy, and members-and many players-feel intensely attached to it. Yet the socios, as members are known, make up a closed world. Virtually all are from Catalonia, and increasingly, they are the children or grandchildren of members, since membership has long been closed to outsiders; parents sign their children up at birth. Piqué, like many others, was made a member at birth by his grandfather, and signed up his two children, with Colombian pop star Shakira, at birth too. "I love this club very much," he says. "It is like my home."

Members pay a relatively tiny 180-euro annual fee. That figure has not increased in eight years. Membership offers at least a chance of landing season tickets. "We have a waiting list of members wanting a seat," Bartomeu says. "My oldest son is 19, and he's been on the waiting list for 19 years."

With Barça's ballooning costs, the membership fees from its socios today generate just 5% of its revenue. Since most seats are assigned to members, its ability to raise money from ticket sales is limited. While other clubs also face that problem, at Barça, members would need to vote to raise ticket prices in order to generate more profits-a decision they are unlikely to take.

There is another oddity at Barça too: The president and board members are required to put up 15% of the club's yearly revenues as collateral when they're voted in, as a guarantee against possible losses. That sum could reach 7.5 million euros each, once club revenues are 1 billion euros a year.

Despite that, board members are aghast when asked if Barça would ever be sold or transformed into a more traditional profit-making business. "No. Never. It is our club. The members," says Manel Arroyo, the board's vice president, echoing the response of others I ask. "People come here from different parts of the world, asking to buy the club," he says. "We say, 'It is not about the money.' "

Perhaps not. And as such, Barça is a refreshing change from the heavy commercialism of pro sports-a fact that ironically boosts its brand and wins over millions of fans.

But Barça's ability to remain on top will depend on money. "It will be hard for a club owned by 150,000 members to either keep this ownership model, or if it keeps it, to continue competing at the very top level," says Victor Font, CEO of Delta Partners, a global telecom advisory and investment firm, who is considered one possible successor to Bartomeu in 2021. Font, like Bartomeu and Piqué, has been a Barça member since he was an infant, as were his father and grandfather, and in 2015 authored a strategy plan for the club called Sí al Futur, or "Yes to the future," after growing concerned over its long-term viability. He says members are generally content, since Barça continues to win titles. But he likens that relaxed attitude to ignoring climate change, saying, "If you are enjoying the weather, it is difficult to see it coming."

Font's strategy would mark a sharp break-and perhaps offer a blueprint for other clubs, as they try to modernize their operations. Under his plan, Barça would become something more resembling a multinational enterprise, able to capitalize on its giant global popularity. He says it makes no sense that a hugely well-known club like Barça doesn't do more to monetize its massive fan base. He estimates each fan is worth just $2 a year to Barça now. If the club found a way to charge each fan a dollar a month-say, by subscribing to video-streamed matches-then 400 million fans would generate $6 billion a year. He also believes Barça should own its image rights and sell merchandise directly, rather than allowing Nike, Adidas, and others to claim the lion's share of the value. "Clubs play a very small role in the value chain of football," he says.

Font is not the first to suggest dramatic changes-and he echoes the worries of many in the football world. In 2008, eight Barça board members quit after disputes over future direction. Among them was then vice president Ferran Soriano, who had pushed to open Barça franchises around the world. The socios blocked the idea, fearing it might dilute the club's Catalan roots.

Today Soriano is CEO of Manchester City football club in the U.K.'s Premier League, where he helped set up City Football Group, or CFG, a company jointly owned by Abu Dhabi and China. The group holds stakes in six clubs across the world-much like Soriano's thwarted vision for Barça. Britain's Guardian newspaper calls it the sport's "first truly multinational corporation-a Coca-Cola of soccer."

Barça's socios might never accept turning their beloved club into a global commodity. But one start might be installing a paid board with deep knowledge of the football industry, which would set the strategic direction for team CEO Oscar Grau, rather than relying on unpaid directors to oversee operations, as Barça does now. "I know they are fully focused, but they don't earn any money to run it," Piqué says. "I think this is something that has to be changed."

Having founded a video game company, and with major investments in an eyewear company, Piqué is increasingly involved in business strategy himself; in 2017 he underwent an executive program at Harvard Business School, and he says he hopes to run Barça in the future, after he finally retires from football, probably in a few years' time.

Font agrees it is time for more professional FC Barcelona management. "The board should be a proper board, like the board of Apple or Uber," he says. Instead of winning league trophies, there should be one true measure of how well the board is running Barça, he says: "Whether they will be able to compete in 2030."

How Barça fares in 2030 could have a drastic impact on the future of the boys kicking footballs at La Masia academy. Each one hopes that by that time-12 years from now-their names might be added to the honor roll on a wall in the academy, listing dozens of the major stars who began as children here: Andrés Iniesta, Pep Guardiola, and others.

But breaking into those ranks will not be easy. "Only about 5% make it to the first team," says Ana Merayo, who runs La Masia's Comprehensive Athlete Care Service. "We always give them a plan B in real life, like academics." She leads me into a classroom of teenage players studying finance. There a teacher shows examples of transactions worth a few hundred euros. But the boys in class have far bigger dreams: By 2030, nine-figure earnings like Messi's could be within reach of many players. And most hope the money will be earned right here, driving balls between the goalposts in Barcelona.

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Inside FC Barcelona's Global Football Empire

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The suburbs stretching west of Barcelona are dark and quiet on a recent evening. But on one brightly lit hillside, floodlights illuminate perfectly manicured fields, showing a blur of color and action. About 125 boys, some as young as 11, race back and forth across the grass, kicking footballs in a complex choreography of attack and defense.

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Affiliated with Atletico Madrid in the 1940's and 50's.

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THERE IS A WELL-TOLD TALE, one shrouded in layers of conspiracy and confusion, of the saga that preceded Alfredo Di Stéfano's transfer to Real Madrid. The details are different depending on who you believe - and possibly who you support - but the basic gist of the story is that General Franco, the ultra-right-wing dictator who ruled Spain with an iron fist from 1936 until 1975, in some way used his influence to sabotage Barcelona's move for the player and allow the Madrid club to sign him instead.

Di Stéfano was at the time widely regarded as one of the brightest prospects in world football, and both Barcelona and Real Madrid were in hot pursuit of the Argentine. His situation was already somewhat convoluted - despite playing for Colombian club Millonarios, his previous club River Plate claimed that the transfer had breached regulations and that they were still his official owners. So negotiations were always likely to be difficult and protracted, even before Barcelona, the early frontrunners for his signature, made their interest known.

The circumstances which led to the striker eventually signing for Real Madrid, despite initially appearing set for Catalonia (he even played in a pre-season friendly for the Blaugrana), are certainly murky and difficult to unravel, but the conspiracy theories all point to Franco's involvement.

Some of these theories are more believable than others, with perhaps the most sensational suggesting that the man leading Barcelona's handling of the transfer was in fact on the dictator's payroll, and botched the negotiations deliberately in order to clear the path for Madrid. A somewhat more credible theory, and one to which many Catalonian football historians subscribe, is that the Francoist authorities capitalised on the impasse between Millonarios and Barcelona, and exerted pressure on the club to pull out of the deal and allow Real Madrid to sign the player instead.

However much truth there is in the story, it is often used by Real Madrid's detractors - Barcelona chief amongst them - as proof of links between the club and the Franco regime. Real Madrid, it is often claimed, were the dictator's team and benefited from preferential treatment from the government. There is no shortage of people who would claim that Los Blancos' success and wealth during that period was in some way owed to their underhand connections with the Generalísimo.

There are various reasons that have led to this becoming an established discourse, and the role of Barcelona in perpetuating the myth should not be underestimated. The story of Real Madrid's connections to Franco fits with Barcelona's preferred narrative, which likes to see the club as symbolising the established order and the conservative, centralised Spain whereas they themselves symbolise democracy and an independent Catalonia - the plucky underdogs, who succeeded in spite of intense persecution from the regime.

Without a doubt, clubs like Barcelona and Athletic Club, who represent Catalonia and the Basque Country respectively, suffered during the regime due to their regions' demands for their dialects, cultures, and individual identities to be officially recognised. Franco's Spain was based on centralisation and ethnic, cultural and linguistic homogenisation, and anyone that challenged this was essentially suppressed.

It was for this reason that Athletic Club were in 1941 forced to change their name to Atlético Club - Franco had banned the use of any languages other than Castellano, the official Spanish language, and 'Athletic' is a Basque word. Los Leones were also forced to abandon the policy which only allowed Basque-born players to play for the club, an important part of the tradition and heritage of the club.

On Barcelona's part, there is a story, also steeped in myth, which sums up the way they were perceived and treated by the regime. The story goes that, in 1943, after winning the first leg of a cup semi-final against Real Madrid 3-0, Barcelona's players were paid a visit by one of Franco's cronies, who reminded them that they were only allowed to play at all due to "the generosity of the regime", and suggested in no uncertain terms that they ease off in the second leg.

Real Madrid went on to win that game 11-1, by far the biggest win in Clásico history. Again, it is difficult to ascertain the extent to which the story has been embellished, but it is hard to believe that such a scoreline could have come about entirely naturally. Aside from this, Barcelona were also - like Bilbao - forced to change their name and were ordered to remove the Catalan flag from their crest.

Read | When Real Madrid offered Alfredo Di Stéfano to Manchester United

Against this backdrop of persecution for regional teams, Real Madrid's treatment might well have appeared preferential. In comparison to troublesome teams like Barcelona and Bilbao, who implicitly rejected the regime, and whom Franco saw as a threat to Spanish national identity, Los Blancos symbolised the power of centralisation and of traditional Spanish language and culture.

By its very nature, a centralising regime is built on the power of its capital, and the Franco regime was centred, politically and economically, around Madrid. For this reason, Real Madrid, as the most successful team in the city, and the most prestigious team of entirely Castilian identity, was always likely to be the preferred team of the dictator.

It was for this reason that the Generalísimo paid regular visits to watch the side in the 1950s and '60s, especially during their most successful period when, inspired by the majestic Di Stéfano, they won five consecutive European Cups between 1956 and 1960.

However, the suggestion that their success was in some way owed to the regime is almost certainly exaggerated. The common assumption is that Real Madrid were great because Franco supported them, but it would be more accurate to say that Franco supported them because they were great. Real Madrid symbolised everything that Franco stood for - the power of a centralised Spain, the power of Madrid, and the strength of traditional Castilian values.

Real Madrid were a diplomatic and political tool for the dictator, in more ways than one. Firstly, the club's success, particularly on the European platform, presented an idea of Spain that was far removed from the general perception of the country that was prevalent on the continent. Franco's regime, although primarily inward-looking, was hugely concerned with the way it was perceived by the rest of Europe, and Real Madrid were the perfect PR tool, projecting an idea of a wealthy, happy and united Spain that was at odds with the reality.

Secondly, his association with and apparent backing of Real Madrid could be used implicitly by Franco as a criticism of Catalonia and the Basque Country, who used football as a way of expressing their cultural and linguistic identities and their dissatisfaction with the regime. Barcelona and Real Madrid, even then, were by far the most successful teams in Spain and any endorsement of Real Madrid, as Franco well knew, was also a rejection of Barcelona, and conversely of Catalonia, whose separatist movement was by far the biggest threat to Spanish national unity in the dictator's eyes.

Ironically, although Franco's support of Barcelona was originally used to some extent to demean and diminish Barcelona, the Blaugrana now use it to mock and goad their Madrid rivals. It is the ultimate expression of the dichotomy that Barcelona's fans like to stress: the wealthy, conservative right-wing Real Madrid against the progressive, liberal, left-wing Barcelona.

The Franco regime has such toxic connotations in modern democratic Spain that any suggestion of association or, even worse, cooperation with it is a scathing indictment. So it pays for fans of other teams, particularly Barcelona, to peddle and exaggerate the myth. Furthermore, Real Madrid, like Manchester United in England, are the team that fans of other clubs love to hate, and the supposed connections with Franco are a convenient way of explaining away the club's unrivalled success - as well as being another reason to place themselves in opposition to them.

The myth of the connection between Real Madrid and the Franco regime is without doubt exaggerated. That's not to say there's no truth in it - Franco did to some extent align himself with the club - but it would be a huge step to suggest that their success is in some way owed to this connection.

Going back to the story of Di Stéfano, the regime may have had some small part to play in the events which led to the striker choosing the Bernabéu over the Camp Nou, but it is highly unlikely that their involvement was a major factor - after all, the government had more important things to be doing than concerning itself with football transfer dealings.

Ultimately, the story can be seen more than anything as just another expression of the bitter, political rivalry that has always existed between Barcelona and Real Madrid - one which transcends football and which thrives on stories like these to embellish its rich tapestry.
By Nick Fitzgerald

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The story of Real Madrid and the Franco regime

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THERE IS A WELL-TOLD TALE, one shrouded in layers of conspiracy and confusion, of the saga that preceded Alfredo Di Stéfano's transfer to Real Madrid.

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Barcelona has always been Catalonia's home club.

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This was the only place where people were allowed to speak and express themselves in their own language without fear or hesitation.

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The two teams are not from the same city or region yet the two teams are big rivals

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Real Madrid and Barcelona's rivalry is one of the most pungent representations of competitive soccer, not only for the battles they endure on the field, but for reasons that delve deeper beneath the surface of what we see on our screens too. It has been that way since the very beginning, a time when politics forged the soccer warfare that we see today.

Political Upheaval

The forming of the two clubs coincided with one of the most turbulent periods of history that Spain has experienced.

General Franco's revolt against the Second Spanish Republic saw FC Barcelona put to the top of the list of organizations to be purged by the National Faction, whilst Madrid's 'centralizing tendencies' were opposed vigorously by their rivals. It is a history that still resides through the streets of Spain's two largest cities.

The Battle For Di Stefano

But whilst behind-the-scenes activities were well-documented, so were those of a sporting nature. The rivalry between the sides intensified in the 1950's when Barcelona and Real Madrid contested the signing of Alfredo Di Stefano. The Argentinean legend was a target for both sides after impressing for Los Millonarios in Colombia, and after attempting to sign him, it was agreed between the clubs and soccer's governing body that they would have to share the striker. After a couple of appearances for Barcelona, they backed out of the deal and Di Stefano became a Real Madrid player for definite.

Luis Figo's controversial Transfer from Barcelona to Real Madrid
On The Field

It is what has happened on the field, however, that has instigated one of the fiercest rivalries in soccer. It was Real Madrid who were victorious in the inaugural meeting between the two, as Rafael Morera's two goals ensured Los Merengues were 2-1 victors.

But whilst that was a tight affair, both teams have enjoyed their fair share of drubbings too; Madrid, who were generally the stronger side through the 1930s, beating their great rivals 8-2 in February 1935 before they were thrashed 5-0 themselves two months later. In more recent times, Barcelona have had the wool over Madrid.

Star Performers

El Clasico has always been memorable for the quality of players on display. The likes of Di Stefano, Emilio Butrageuno, Johan Cruyff, and of modern times Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, have all graced Clasicos down the years. It is a shame, therefore, that the modern day Clasico has often been overshadowed by play-acting and simulation from both parties. The soccer seems to have taken a back seat, with the amount of yellow and red cards being the more important statistic. But whilst these two great teams remain rivals, El Clasico, the second-most watched soccer match in the world, will continue to be a spectacle for all.

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Real Madrid and Barcelona's rivalry is one of the most pungent representations of competitive soccer, not only for the battles they endure on the field, but for reasons that delve deeper beneath the surface of what we see on our screens too.

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cristiano ronaldo amazing goal vs fiorentina 23/08/2017

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Cristiano Ronaldo Amazing Goal vs Fiorentina 23/08/2017

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Lionel Messi vs Getafe Best Goal Ever (English)