Present and future: Nico
Fact File
Full name: Nicolás González Iglesias, ‘Nico’
Date and place of birth: 03/01/2002 (La Coruña, Spain)
Arrival at Barça: Joined La Masia at the age of 11 from Montañeros.
Senior debut: 15 August 2021, in LaLiga at Camp Nou against Real Sociedad as an 83rd minute replacement for Sergio Busquets.
Barça natural
The La Masia scouts spotted Nico during a friendly in Galicia, and brought him to the Catalan capital when he was just 11. He slotted into the midfield seamlessly, as of the Barça system was in his DNA, and rose through the youth ranks with a host of league titles at each level.
He made his Barça B debut as a 17-year-old in the final game of the 2018/19 season, but his real breakthrough came in 2020/21 when his ability to play in so many positions was a key factor for promotion to Primera RFEF.
A brilliant reader of the game, with so much skill and tactical awareness, Ronald Koeman was easily impressed and drew on his services for the 2021 preseason. Nico didn’t disappoint.
At the age of 19, he appeared in the very first game of LaLiga 2021/22 against Real Sociedad, coming on for the last few minutes as a replacement for another Masia graduate, Sergio Busquets.
He has gone on to form part of the first plans for this season, and has belied his youth with some exceptionally mature performances.