Born in La Pobla de Segur, Lleida, Catalonia, Carles Puyol began his football journey at his hometown club—as a goalkeeper. However, frequent shoulder injuries forced him to give up the position and move further up the pitch as a forward.
In 1995, he joined FC Barcelona's famed youth academy, La Masia, where he once again changed roles—this time to defensive midfielder. Two years later, Puyol earned his place in Barcelona B, often deployed as a right-back.
There was a particular reason Richard had his eyes set on Puyol for Manchester City. He remembered that, at one point, Barcelona had accepted an offer from Málaga to sell the young defender. At the time, Puyol was still behind Frank de Boer and Michael Reiziger in the defensive hierarchy, and his future at the club looked uncertain.
