BARCELONA, SPAIN – DECEMBER 03: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona controls the ball during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF at Camp Nou stadium on December 03, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images)
Mes Que Un Club, More Than A Club. FC Barcelona are unique in many ways. A lot of clubs have a style of play, but none match the Blaugrana. They are the incarnation of a philosophy.
At the very least, they divide opinion. Loved by many for their ability to win by using the same easy on the eye philosophy, they are also despised by others who claim they are arrogant and do not deserve their acclaim, having used negative means to reach the top such as conning referees.
The ideas stemmed from the Dutch philosophy of ‘total football’, brought to the club when Johan Cruyff arrived from Ajax in 1973. It took over the club, becoming identity in its purest form and after years of misery at the turn of the 21st century, former president Joan Laporta came in 2003 with the idea of getting back to basics. What followed, over the next decade, was unprecedented success.
Regardless of public opinion, it cannot be denied that some truly legendary players have graced the turf at the Camp Nou, their fabled stadium which has become like a theatre which 98,000 people flock to in order to be entertained.
The current squad has the same sprinkling of star dust as ever, and could quite easily achieve another clean sweep of titles come May. Under Luis Enrique they are currently struggling to keep pace with eternal rivals Real Madrid in LaLiga, sitting six points behind Los Blancos before they jetted off to Japan for their successful Club World Cup campaign.
They’re not short on quality these days, but equally they are not hitting the heights of bygone years. As a follow-up to the five greatest Real Madrid players article, we have counted down from five to one documenting Barcelona’s best ever. Enjoy!
the five greatest Real Madrid players article</a>, we have counted down from five to one documenting Barcelona’s best ever. Enjoy!</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Xavi Hernandez </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_428324" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-428324" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F12%2F476341072-champions-league-final-barcelona-v-juventus-850x560.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><p class="wp-caption-text">Xavi Hernandez of FC Barcelona during the UEFA Champions League final match between Barcelona and Juventus on June 6, 2015 at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, Germany.(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>5. Xavi Hernandez</strong></p>
<p>At the height of Barcelona’s dominance under Pep Guardiola, another legendary former player and true Cruyff disciple who took his reputation to the next level as a coach, there was a saying in Catalonia. While captain Carles Puyol was the heart of the club, Xavi was the brain.</p>
<p>The reason the midfielder, now 36 and playing in Qatar with Al Saad after departing from the Camp Nou last year, beat his long-haired ex-teammate to this list is his relationship with Andres Iniesta, particularly between 2009 and 2013.</p>
<p>Xavi was an ever-present in the Barça team for around 16 years, and his time with his hometown club wasn’t always rosy. Under Frank Rijkaard, the man Laporta brought in originally to re-implement the Cruyff philosophy, Xavi and Barça won three LaLiga titles and the Champions League in 2006, but trophyless campaigns over the next two years cost the Dutchman his job and showed work was still to be done.</p>
<div class="recent-posts ">
<h4>More from <b>Playing for 90</b></h4>
<ul>
<li>
<a href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://playingfor90.com/2023/11/13/leon-juarez-playoffs/">
Leon edges scrappy FC Juarez to secure spot in playoffs
</a>
</li><li>
<a href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://playingfor90.com/2023/11/12/megan-rapinoe-career-defined-more-farewell-match-injury/">
Megan Rapinoe’s career defined by more than farewell match injury
</a>
</li><li>
<a href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://playingfor90.com/2023/11/12/barcelona-manage-comeback-alaves/">
Lewandowski scores twice as Barcelona come back to beat Alaves 2-1
</a>
</li><li>
<a href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://playingfor90.com/2023/11/12/liga-mx-leon-puebla-finales/">
León chasing play-in spot; Puebla aims for higher seeding
</a>
</li><li>
<a href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://playingfor90.com/2023/11/12/tigres-goalie-america/">
Carlos Rodríguez emerges with clean sheet vs league leaders
</a>
</li></ul>
</div>
<p>Victory with Spain at Euro 2008 that summer reinvigorated Xavi ahead of working with Guardiola. From then, he never looked back and finally earned the world-class reputation his talent had always deserved, having previously been patronised and overlooked by wider media.</p>
<p>Passing stats showed just what he brought to the side in his prime, but he offered Barcelona a similar service to the one mentioned in the Real Madrid article about Raul. Having grown up in La Masia, the club’s youth academy which became the foundation of their success thanks to Laporta, he understood the morals of the club and what it meant to a very politically charged region of Spain.</p>
<p>Mention Barcelona and Xavi Hernandez’s name will follow suit. He stands as the bar for future stars to reach and fully deserves his place on this list.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Andres Iniesta </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_428325" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-428325" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F12%2F630223256-fc-barcelona-v-rcd-espanyol-la-liga-850x560.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><p class="wp-caption-text">BARCELONA, SPAIN – DECEMBER 18: Andres Iniesta of Barcelona in action during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol at Camp Nou Stadium on December 18, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by fotopress/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>4. Andres Iniesta</strong></p>
<p>Xavi’s partner in crime, Iniesta is now 32 and just four years younger than his former midfield mate but it took a lot longer for him to establish himself in the first team. Having made his debut in 2002 under Louis van Gaal, he struggled for regular action under Rijkaard thanks to Portugal star Deco. Guardiola’s arrival changed everything.</p>
<p>Deco departed and the new boss put his faith in Iniesta. When at La Masia, Iniesta looked up to Guardiola and the feeling became mutual during Pep’s playing career. He told Xavi that Iniesta would send both of them into retirement.</p>
<p>What made his and Xavi’s time together so devastating was the way their differences perfectly complimented one another. Xavi’s forte has always been controlling the tempo of a game with short passes, Iniesta was given the freedom to impact the game higher up the pitch with his ability to carry the ball and create chances. Add Sergio Busquets, the safety blanket who protects the defence and it worked like clock work.</p>
<p>It would have been impossible to leave Iniesta out here, and he features so highly because he impacted the biggest moments in the clubs dominance so well.</p>
<p>Think of the Champions League success in 2009,it was his goal in the dying minutes against Chelsea in the semi final that took them to Rome against Manchester United, before he put in a man of the match display at the Stadio Olimpico. In 2011, against the Red Devils at Wembley, he helped secure a fourth European Cup with another sumptuous display.</p>
<p>For Spain, too, he was crucial. There is just the small matter of his extra time goal against Holland in the 2010 World Cup final and being named the Player of the Tournament at Euro 2012.</p>
<p>He is truly one of Barcelona’s greatest ever soccer players.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Ronaldinho </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_428326" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-428326" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F12%2F509960782-fbl-fc-barcelona-valencia-cf-850x560.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><p class="wp-caption-text">FC Barcelona’s Brazilian Ronaldinho (R) vies with Valencia’s Moretti (L) during their Spanish League football match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, 24 September 2006. AFP PHOTO/LLUIS GENE / AFP / LLUIS GENE (Photo credit should read LLUIS GENE/AFP/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>3. Ronaldinho</strong></p>
<p>The first major signing of the Laporta era, Ronaldinho arrived from Paris Saint-Germain in 2003 with the hope of changing a floundering side’s fortunes on the pitch. The Brazilian’s intoxicating ability to win games with his amazing ability and a constant smile on his face, which became almost as famous as him, endeared him to the world of soccer.</p>
<p>Without Ronaldinho, there would be no dominant Barça era. He was the linchpin of Rijkaard’s team and the main reason behind their rise to the top. In many ways, his style was unique despite a number of players trying to emulate him. He would constantly bamboozle defenders, and often teammates, with his tricks. In his prime, there was real substance to his play.</p>
<div class="embed embed-video"><iframe loading="lazy" width="500" height="281" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/a0ksVaLlaIw?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>Famous moments for Ronaldinho at Barcelona include his remarkable goal against Chelsea in the 2005 Champions League campaign at Stamford Bridge. Stood on the edge of the box, he left one of Europe’s best defences tripping over itself with a quick fire shot that rustled the back of the net in the blink of an eye.</p>
<p>His two solo goals which embarrassed Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu will never be forgotten, either. It is no coincidence that his level dropped in 2007 when the Blaugrana began to struggle and by the time Guardiola took over, he was out of the door and signing for AC Milan.</p>
<p>But by then, his work was done. Two poor years will be forgiven thanks to his three wonderful ones in Spain and he more than earned his place as Barcelona’s third best ever player.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Johan Cruyff </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_428327" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-428327" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F12%2F2694706-running-at-defenders-850x560.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><p class="wp-caption-text">Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff running at the Ipswich defender John Stirk while playing for Barcelona. (Photo by John Minihan/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>2. Johan Cruyff</strong></p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
<div id="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-position="slideshow_inline" data-slot="inline_428320" style="width:300px;margin: 0 auto;">
<script>
googletag.cmd.push(function () {
googletag.defineSlot("/175840252/fansided.com/Playingfor90/mpu",[300, 250], "minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet")
.addService(googletag.pubads());
googletag.enableServices();
googletag.display("minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet");
});
</script>
</div>
</div> </div> </div>
<p>Having already been alluded to in this article, Johan Cruyff needs absolutely no introduction. If he hadn’t arrived in Catalonia in the 1970s and taken to the club and region as well as he did, the club would simply not be in the place it is today.</p>
<p>Everyone knows the story about him pioneering total football in Barcelona, alongside Dutch coach Renus Michels, but his importance to the Catalan people in general runs much deeper than that. He became the face of the region while General Franco made life as tough as he could during his dictatorship.</p>
<p>On the pitch, Cruyff was the best player in the world at that time and inspired Barcelona to domestic success. Not only was he vital to the club on and off the pitch, his ideals have been copied by others the world over, arguably making him the most important man in the history of soccer.</p>
<p>The former Ajax man took Barcelona to his heart as much as his hometown club, in Amsterdam, before he died in March from cancer. He would go on to manage both clubs, proving he could create a team in his image from the sidelines by winning the Blaugrana’s first European Cup in 1992.</p>
<p>Cruyff had an aura about him as a player, and spoke about the game with such intelligence after his retirement. He was responsible for everything great about FC Barcelona, so it was always going to take a lot to topple him as the greatest.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Lionel Messi </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—></p><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_428328" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-428328" src=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F12%2F630242394-fc-barcelona-v-rcd-espanyol-la-liga-850x560.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><p class="wp-caption-text">BARCELONA, SPAIN – DECEMBER 18: Lionel Messi of Barcelona celebrates after scoring the third goal during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol at Camp Nou Stadium on December 18, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by fotopress/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>1. Lionel Messi</strong></p>
<p>Fortunately for Barcelona, at the turn of the century there was a product in La Masia destined to not only better Cruyff’s achievements at the club, but better everyone’s achievements in soccer according to some.</p>
<p>Deciding on who is the greatest player of all time is completely subjective of course, but few would ever argue with Messi’s credentials having scored the most LaLiga goals of all time as well as breaking so many other records and winning numerous trophies over his career.</p>
<p>But what makes the Argentina ace so special is not the statistics or the silverware, it is his performances and what he has been able to do on the pitch. Scoring a hat trick against Real Madrid aged 19 while learning from Ronaldinho, who took Messi under his wing, was an early highlight.</p>
<div class="related-category right">
<div class="related-main-title">More from <span class="related-name">FC Barcelona</span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<a class="related-link" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://playingfor90.com/2023/11/08/barcelona-superstar-stunning-fall/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">Barcelona superstar’s stunning fall: Another lackluster performance shocks fans</a>
</li>
<li>
<a class="related-link" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://playingfor90.com/2023/11/07/barcelona-punished-miserable-performance/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">Barcelona punished for another miserable performance</a>
</li>
<li>
<a class="related-link" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://playingfor90.com/2023/11/03/pedri-back-barcelona-squad/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">Pedri back in the Barcelona squad for Real Sociedad match</a>
</li>
<li>
<a class="related-link" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://playingfor90.com/2023/10/31/aitana-bonmati-highlights-barcelona-contingent-ballon-dor/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">Aitana Bonmati highlights Barcelona contingent at Ballon d’or awards</a>
</li>
<li>
<a class="related-link" href=https://playingfor90.com/2016/12/22/5-greatest-barcelona-players-time/"https://playingfor90.com/2023/10/29/gundogan-anger-barcelona-teammates/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">Gundogan wants more anger from Barcelona teammates</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>Injury problems meant he couldn’t get a consistent run in the team under Frank Rijkaard, but it was under Pep Guardiola when he truly took off. At just 21, he scored a goal in the Champions League final against Manchester United in 2009 before winning the first of a record five Ballon d’Ors later that year.</p>
<p>With every game, Messi continues to defy belief. Now 29, he is probably the best in the world at all particular attacking attribute. While he has endured tough times in 2016, he continues to impress on a personal level as well as alongside strike partners Luis Suarez and Neymar.</p>
<p>Lionel Messi needs little introduction or description. He is truly one of the greatest soccer player ever and a fitting choice as Barça’s best.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">