With rare and unrivaled access, bestselling coauthor of Soccernomics and longtime FT journalist Simon Kuper tells the story of what made FC Barcelona the most successful soccer club in the world FC Barcelona isn't just the world's highest-grossing sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organizations on the planet. At last count, it had approximately 214 million social-media followers, more than any other sports club except Real Madrid—and by one, earlier measure more than all 32 NFL clubs combined. It has more in common with multinational mega companies like Netflix or small nation-states than it does with most soccer teams. No wonder its motto is "More than a club". But it was not always so. In the past three decades, Barcelona went from a regional team to a global powerhouse, becoming a model of sustained excellence, beautiful soccer and consistent winner of championships. Kuper unravels exactly how this transformation took...