Cant del Barca: 5 greatest Barcelona players of all time

Barcelona are undoubtedly one of the biggest teams in world football. The Catalan side have been one of the game’s strongest powers for decades now, having won a staggering 77 domestic honors in their history. Not limited to their own borders, Barca have exerted their ability on the continent and are one of just five teams to have won at least five Champions League/European Cups, while also being the first team in Europe to have won two continental trebles.

Their famed style of play is interwoven with the very club, as evidenced by the tiki-taka system that Barca teaches budding prospects at La Masia, perhaps the world’s most well-known youth academy for the plethora of successes that have emerged from its walls.

In modern memory, the team managed by now-Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is considered one of the best to have ever played, with Barcelona able to win 14 major honors in just four years of Guardiola’s management. That is not to say that Barca haven’t fielded dominant sides in the past, however. With all of this being considered, it bears wondering just which five players have been the best ever to play for the legendary Blaugrana?

5. Ronaldinho

Despite their reputation, Barcelona were in something of a rut prior to the arrival of Ronaldinho Gaucho. Joan Gaspart, who had served as vice president to Josep Nunez, succeeded his superior in 2000 but would be widely criticized for the club’s poor form in his tenure which lasted just three years. Upon his resignation in February 2003, Barcelona were just two points above the relegation zone, an almost unfeasible predicament for a club of their standing.

Joan Laporta would follow Gaspart as permanent president, appointing Frank Rijkaard as manager and signing an influx of foreign players over his tenure. Ronaldinho was one of the first, moving to Catalonia in 2003 from Paris Saint-Germain. It was no coincidence that, gradually, form and eventually fan feeling began to improve at Camp Nou.

The Brazilian injected a flair into Barcelona that had been absent for too long, that fans had been craving for too long. He helped Barca place second in his first season, having missed a portion in the middle through injury. His assist for Xavi’s goal at the Bernabeu in 2004 gave Barcelona their first win away at arch-rivals Real Madrid in seven years.

Without question one of the game’s most skilful players, Ronaldinho helped Barca win two La Liga titles and a Champions League in the 2005/06 season, their first since the early 1990s. Ronaldinho was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 2005, his dynamism making him one of the world’s more cherished players. When he left for Milan in 2008, he did so having made himself a legend amongst Culers.

4. Johan Cruyff

After nine years with Ajax, despite only being in his mid-twenties by the time of his departure, Cruyff moved to Spain in 1973, winning two of his three Ballon d’Ors in his first two years as a Barcelona player. In his first season, he helped the Catalan side win their first La Liga since the 1960s, his speed and awe-inspiring technical ability swiftly making him the most integral part of his team.

The pioneer of the Total Football ideology, Cruyff was not only a gifted playmaker, but a lethal finisher, often ranging forwards and backward from what would now be considered something of a false nine position. He spent five years playing for Barcelona, before briefly retiring in 1978, having made himself adored in the eyes of the Barca faithful.

A decade later, Cruyff was appointed manager of Barcelona, returning to the club he had spent a large portion of his career at. It did not take long for good results to follow and crucially, Cruyff oversaw his possession-based system being implemented into the youth team as well as the senior side.

Barcelona’s “Dream Team” of the early 90s, made up of players both native and foreign, won four straight La Liga titles and the 1992 European Cup, with Ronald Koeman striking the winning goal against Sampdoria. Cruyff won 11 major honors with Barca in his time as manager, a record only surpassed now by a certain Pep Guardiola.

Cruyff was sacked in 1996 after two trophyless seasons and disagreements with the president, Josep Nunez. That, however, did nothing to dampen the legacy he had left behind.

3. Andres Iniesta

A product of the famous La Masia academy, Iniesta made his senior debut for Barcelona in 2002 and would spend 16 years with the club, being a crucial cog in one of the most successful periods in their history.

Iniesta developed as he grew into his 20s, receiving direct praise from Frank Rijkaard in 2006 after playing the second half of the Champions League final, which Barcelona won by beating Arsenal. A versatile player, Iniesta’s appearances continued to rise and in 2007, he took the number 8 shirt and settled back into his natural midfield role.

The Spaniard, who won two Euros and a World Cup with his country, had a mesmeric ability on the ball and could attack and defend in equal capacity. Guardiola once praised Iniesta’s “mastery of the relationship between space and time” and he could breeze through defenders effortlessly with his dribbling technique.

Iniesta enjoyed a staggering level of success with his club, winning nine La Liga’s, six Copa del Reys and four Champions Leagues before departing Camp Nou in 2018 and joining Vissel Kobe in Japan. The midfielder announced his retirement earlier this year, but will hardly be forgotten any time soon.

2. Xavi

A youth prospect, senior player and manager for the club, Xavi is intertwined with Barcelona at a level that so few are with any team. The Spaniard made his Barca debut in 1998 and would spend 17 years there, almost the entirety of his career, before departing in 2015 for Al Sadd where he would retire after four further years as a player.

Until the record was broken by Lionel Messi, Xavi’s appearance tally was the highest of any player to have represented the Blaugrana. He, alongside Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, was part of a midfield trio that, under Guardiola, fired Barcelona to an exceptional level of success. Xavi was a master at dictating the tempo of any game he played, being exceedingly capable of finding players in space when on the ball. 

In 2021, Xavi returned to the club in a different capacity, replacing Ronald Koeman as manager. He enjoyed a strong, though honourless, debut season, but helped Barca rise to second by the season’s conclusion, having been ninth upon his appointment. The following year, Barca won their first La Liga title in four years after beating local rivals Espanyol 4-2. Unfortunately for Xavi, however, performances would worsen and consistency would lessen in his third term in charge, leading to his departure earlier this year.

Despite how his managerial stint at the club ended, Xavi’s legacy as a player left fans with a clear, but perfect model of the tiki-taka style of play that Barcelona have implemented into their DNA.

1. Lionel Messi

Barcelona’s greatest-ever player and considered one of, or the best, to play the game, Lionel Messi was certainly a superstar, but perhaps describing him as alien would be a fairer representation of his abilities. With a record eight Ballon d’Ors to his name, Messi racked up 303 assists and 672 for Barcelona across almost 800 appearances.

A deceptively strong player for his size, Messi’s combination of a smaller frame, rapid speed and ability to hold the ball made him almost impossible to tackle when at full flight. His playmaking abilities were as dangerous as his lethal finishing capabilities, with his move to a false nine seeing him score 91 goals in the calendar year of 2012.

Capable of displaying his world-class level either on the right or through the middle, Messi began to drop slightly back as his age increased, which allowed him to continue controlling games despite a natural loss of pace and agility, though he still possesses a high level of both.

Messi won 10 La Liga titles across 17 years at Camp Nou, as well as seven Copa del Reys and four Champions Leagues before departing the club due to financial reasons in 2021, but before he left, he did more than enough to leave an indelible mark on the club’s history.