Barcelona FC is a famous football club that is in Barcelona, Spain. Known for having an extremely-technical playing style mixed with creative players has made this club a world-renowned institution that is admired all over the globe. 

Founded in 1899 by a group of footballers from Switzerland, Spain, England, and Catalan, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture, highlighted by the club’s motto – “Més que un club.” 

The club really is one for the people, with the club being owned and operated by the supporters. It is the fourth-most valuable sports team in the world and the richest team in terms of annual turnover. 

With such support and international prowess, it is no doubt that this club has been privy to having some of the world’s best footballers.

Let’s see the top 8 Barcelona FC soccer players to ever play in the historic Camp Nou…

Ronaldhino

Ronaldhino Gaucho – By By Marcos Corrêa/PR – Palácio do Planalto, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79766247

Ronaldhino is a former Brazilian soccer player who gained international fame for his creative and fun-loving playing style, making spectators from all over the world fall in love with the game. 

Ronaldhino was on the Barcelona team from 2003-2008, and has reportedly spurred the change of the style of the team and the club’s game. Messi has credited this legend with turning around the bad vibes of the club, and changing the club into its dominating style that controls so many high-level teams from around the world.

Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona 2012 – By Doha Stadium Plus Qatar / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Maradona is an Argentine football manager and retired professional footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the game. He was one of the winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award. 

His playing style was characterized by his intellectual vision, passing, ball control, and dribbling skills. He had a shorter stature and wider frame which allowed him to have a low center of gravity, maneuver quickly, and the skills to dribble through much of the other team. 

Xavi Alonso

Xavi and Andrea Pirlo – By Football.ua / CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL

Xavi was a staple player on the Barcelona squad from 1998-2015, spanning over 17 seasons with the club. He joined the Barcelona youth academy at just age 11, and made his first-team debut in August of 1998 when he was only 18 years old. 

In his entire Barcelona career, he played over 700 matches and set a club record. He was the first player in the club’s history to play 150 European and FIFA Club World Cup matches combined. Xavi won a total of 31 trophies for Barcelona and Spain, second to only Andres Iniesta. 

Iniesta

Barca Napoli Andres Iniesta – By Clément Bucco-Lechat / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Andres Iniesta is a Spanish professional footballer who currently plays for Vissel Kobe in Japan. He came through the Barcelona youth academy and impressed from a very young age. He made his first-team debut at just age 18 in 2002 and began playing regularly only two years later during the 2004-05 season.

Iniesta remained an integral part of the Barcelona squad until the 2018 season, spanning 16 years with his boyhood club. He won 35 trophies and is the most decorated Spanish footballer of all time. 

Johan Cruyff

Ajax number 13 Johan Cruyff – By Bert Verhoeff Nationaal Archief / CC BY-SA 3.0 NL (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en)

Cryuff was a Dutch professional football player and coach who won the Ballon d’Or three times, one of the most prestigious awards in the football world. Cryuff was a huge part of bringing the Dutch national team from relative obscurity to a real contender. Famous for his “cruyff turn” that he used in the 1974 World Cup Finals, he was a technical player that  is famous in the history of the game.

His time in Barcelona was from 1973-1984 when he retired from playing. He broke the world record transfer fee at the time, won La Liga in his first season, and was awarded the European Footballer of the year. 

Carlos Puyol

FC Barcelona – By NASA / Public domain

Carles Puyol is a retired Spanish professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender and a right-back. He is widely regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation.

He served as the long-time team captain for his only professional club – Barcelona FC. he went on to appear in almost 600 matches for his club and won 18 major titles. 

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola – By Alex Tremps / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Guardiola was a defensive midfielder who usually played in a deep playmaker’s role, holding in front of the backline and distributing the ball to his other midfielders and wingers. He spent the majority of his club career with Barcelona, combining with Cruyff to form the Dream Team.

The Dream Team went on to win the club’s first European Cup in 1992 and four successive Spanish league titles. He captained the team from 1997-2001 when he left the club.

From the years 1990-2001, he had over 263 appearances with the club, becoming a staple member of the squad for over a decade.

Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi Player of the Year – By Christopher Johnson / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Perhaps the most famous footballer to ever exist, Messi is without a doubt one of the best players to have worn a Barcelona jersey.

Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward and captains Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He has won a record six Ballon d’Or awards, six European Golden Shoes, a club-record 34 trophies including ten La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, and six Copas del Rey.

He is known for being a prolific goalscorer and creating opportunities out of nothing. He is a creative playmaker that can provide assists to other players, as well as score in almost every game. He holds the record for the most goals in La Liga at 438, the most goals in a single season at 50, the most hat-tricks (3 goals per game) at 36, and most assists in the league at 181.

There you have it – the most notable and prolific players to have ever put on a Barcelona jersey. No wonder this club is one of the best – if not THE best – in the entire world.

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