FC Barcelona B · History

FC Barcelona Atlètic was founded in Barcelona on 12 June 1970, when the board of president Agustí Montal merged two clubs that were already controlled by FC Barcelona: CD Condal and Atlètic Catalunya. It is the Catalan club's men's reserve team. Its job is to give La Masia players their last stage of development before they reach the first team. The team has had several names: C. F. Barcelona Atlético at its founding, FC Barcelona B from 1991, Barcelona Atlètic again between 2008 and 2010, Barcelona B once more from 2010, and Barça Atlètic since June 2022.

The two founding clubs

CD Condal began as the sports section of the textile company La España Industrial and had been tied to Barça since the years after the Civil War. It reached the Spanish top flight in 1956, and in 1968 FC Barcelona took full control of it. Atlètic Catalunya was founded in 1922 as Club Deportivo Hiladuras and came under Barcelona's control in 1965. Merging the two in 1970 brought the club's youth pathway together under one reserve side. The new team first played at the Fabra i Coats ground in the Sant Andreu district.

Promotions in the 1970s

The team started in the regional leagues and rose quickly. It won the Preferente title in 1972-73 and the Tercera División in 1973-74 under Luis Aloy. Those two promotions in a row took it to the Spanish second division, where it made its debut in 1974-75. A sixth-place finish in 1975-76 stood as its best for many years. The team went down in 1976-77.

The Mini Estadi and the second-division years

The Mini Estadi in Les Corts, which held about 15,000 spectators, opened on 23 September 1982. That same year the reserves returned to the second tier after winning Segunda División B in 1981-82. They then spent seven straight seasons in the division, their longest run, until they were relegated in 1988-89. Spain's 1990 Sports Law required reserve teams to carry the first team's name, so in 1991 the club became FC Barcelona B. It also won Segunda B and went up that year. The team was relegated again in 1996-97 with Juande Ramos as coach, came back up as Segunda B champions in 1997-98 and went down again in 1998-99. It won its Segunda B group once more in 2001-02.

Guardiola, Luis Enrique and the 2008 generation

The reserves dropped to the Tercera División in 2007, and the club put Pep Guardiola in charge. He won the Tercera title in 2007-08. Sergio Busquets and Pedro both came from that squad and joined the first team that summer. Luis Enrique coached the side from 2008 to 2011. Under him it won promotion to the second tier in June 2010 and finished third in 2010-11. League rules barred it from going up to the top flight, where the first team plays in LaLiga. His successor, Eusebio Sacristán, also finished third, in 2013-14, but the team came last in 2014-15 and was relegated. It returned as group champions in 2016-17 and was relegated again on 27 May 2018 after a 0-0 draw with Albacete.

Estadi Johan Cruyff and Primera Federación

The team has played its home games at the Estadi Johan Cruyff since 2019-20. The 6,000-seat stadium at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper in Sant Joan Despí opened on 27 August 2019. In 2021 the reserves played in the first season of Primera Federación and finished ninth under Sergi Barjuan. They took back the Barça Atlètic name in June 2022. With Rafa Márquez as coach they were fourth in 2022-23 and third in 2023-24. That season they reached the promotion play-off final and lost 3-2 on aggregate to Córdoba: 1-1 at home on 16 June 2024 and 2-1 at El Arcángel on 23 June.

Academy graduates and the 2025 relegation

Many La Masia graduates played for the reserves, including Guardiola, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Víctor Valdés, Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Thiago Alcântara. In 2024-25 the team finished 16th in Primera Federación under Albert Sánchez and Sergi Milà and was relegated to Segunda Federación, the fourth level of Spanish football. Brazilian Juliano Belletti took over as coach in the summer of 2025. His first competitive game was a 2-0 win over UE Porreres at the Estadi Johan Cruyff.