Barcelona recruit nine-year-old

Spanish big guns Barcelona have signed a nine-year-old boy who was living in Australia when he was spotted and asked to trial with the club.

Zak Gilsenan stood out at a holiday coaching camp run by top Barclays Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in Australia earlier this year.

It was there a former Barcelona player saw Gilsenan, who now lives in Ireland, and he was offered a trial with the Catalan club, home to the likes of Lionel Messi and Spanish superstars Andres Iniesta and Xavi.

He made an immediate impact at the trial, scoring seven goals in one match, and has since been offered a place at Barcelona's FCBE Academy.

His father, Stephen, was taking a pragmatic approach to the signing.

"I know Zak is young to be doing this but kids are like a sponge at this age. People say we are mad but in Barcelona he will be educated in the best footballing techniques. All we can do is go and see how it develops," he told the Irish Sun.

"We know it's ruthless over there. We don't want him turned into a machine, we just want him to enjoy it.

"We were living in Australia when Zak was spotted by Spurs, who were running football camps over there. We came home with the intention of letting Zak go to Spurs, but in the meantime we had a call from Barcelona.

"One of their former players saw him playing in Oz and recommended him. They offered Zak a trial in May and it was a great experience. It consisted of over 400 boys from all over the world. He was asked back in June when it was cut down to 90.

"Then in a match between the top 16 players, Zak just ran riot and scored seven goals. He was phenomenal. Then we heard back two weeks ago and they offered him a spot."