5 players who can replace Andres Iniesta at Barcelona

Andres Iniesta has undoubtedly been one of Barcelona’s greatest ever players. The diminutive Spaniard has time and again surprised us with his unrivalled skill, vision, dribbling and passing abilities.

However, while the ability of Iniesta can barely be questioned, age is catching up with Barcelona’s captain and the Blaugrana will be desperate to find a suitable long-term replacement for the legendary playmaker.

While Iniesta is truly irreplaceable, these 5 players look ideally suited to take over from the Spaniard when he does retire or move away from Barcelona:

#5 Carles Alena

A gem in the La Masia stables, Carles Alena is touted by many to become the next big homegrown star at Barcelona. Since joining Barcelona as an 8-year-old, the 19-year-old has captained all the youth teams including the Juvenil A squad. Having recently made his senior debut for Barcelona, Alena is tipped to become one of the most important members of the Barcelona first team squad.

An attacking midfielder, Alena is capable of playing in the number 8 and number 10 position although he has also been used on the wings sparingly. Having a playing style which looks like an amalgamation of Messi and Iniesta, the youngster has a knack of scoring spectacular goals at crucial intervals just like Iniesta.

Alena is left-footed and always seems to find space in midfield. Calm and unhurried on the ball, Alena is earmarked for great things and is the future of Spanish football.