Barcelona's top 10 academy graduates

#4 Carles Puyol

Carles Puyol captained Barca to 17 major trophies

Central defender Carles Puyol – instantly recognisable by fans due to his curly mop of hair – signed with Barcelona in 1995 as a 17-year old, and didn’t depart the Nou Camp until his retirement at the age of 36, ending his career as one of football’s rare one-club men. In the end, Puyol made almost 600 appearances for La Blaugrana, becoming a legend in the process.

Puyol broke into the first team at the Nou Camp in the summer of 1999 under boss Louis Van Gaal, and was quickly converted from a right-back to a central defender. It turned out to be the right call, and over the next few seasons he was a first team regular, and was promoted to be club captain at the end of 2003-04.

It was with Puyol as captain that Barca had their most fruitful years; the defender held the armband as the Catalan side won 2 La Liga titles and the Champions League under boss Frank Rijkaard, and when Pep Guardiola took over the reins, he remained a key player, captaining the side to a further 4 league titles and two more Champions Leagues. By the time he retired in 2014, Puyol had lifted 17 trophies at the club, all as captain.