Karim Mendikanov has joined Barcelona’s academy, becoming just the second Kazakh footballer to enter the Catalan club’s youth system.
For Kazakh football, it is a rare and significant milestone.
Before Mendikanov, only one other Kazakh player had joined Barcelona’s academy.
Pavlodar-born Alan Agayev earned a place in La Masia after a successful trial in 2015 and spent around two years at the club.
However, reports that Mendikanov has “signed for Barcelona” require some context.
The 15-year-old has joined one of the club’s official youth teams. He still faces several stages before reaching Barcelona’s senior side.
Mendikanov was born in 2011 and began playing football in Uralsk. In 2022, he moved to Spain with his father, primarily for educational reasons.
After a short break from football, he joined local Catalan clubs Cerdanyola and Sant Cugat.
During the 2025/26 season, the winger represented Sant Cugat’s Under-15 side in Catalonia’s top youth division.
The league includes academy teams from Barcelona, Espanyol, Girona, Sabadell and several other professional clubs.
In February, Mendikanov started against Barcelona as Sant Cugat recorded a 2-1 victory. The result, confirmed by the Catalan FA, gave Barcelona’s coaches another opportunity to assess him in competitive action.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Mendikanov quickly became one of Sant Cugat’s standout players. The Spanish outlet praised his pace, dribbling ability, one-on-one play and creativity.
Before completing the move, he trained with Barcelona’s academy after receiving permission from Sant Cugat. Other Spanish clubs were also monitoring him.
His arrival also rules out suggestions that his family paid for a place at the academy.
Barcelona operates paid camps and Barça Academy programmes, but participants do not become registered Barcelona players or compete in official matches. Mendikanov earned his place through the club’s scouting and recruitment process.
The move is another important step in his development rather than a guarantee of a professional career.
He must now establish himself within Barcelona’s academy before progressing through the club’s youth system. Even among La Masia graduates, only a small number eventually reach the first team.
The coming season will provide the clearest indication yet of Mendikanov’s long-term potential. Even so, his move already represents one of the biggest achievements in the history of Kazakh youth football.