Ranking the 10 greatest Barcelona players of all time
Barcelona are one of the most storied and successful clubs in the history of the game.
Over the years, many world-class players have played for the Blaugrana, etching their names in club folklore. Most of the club's success has come in the last three decades. Barcelona have won 16 of their 26 La Liga titles and all six European Cups (five in the Champions League era) in this period.
The Barcelona Dream Team of the early 90s under club legend Johan Cruyff truly put the club on the world map. They won four consecutive league titles and one Champions League, and never looked back.
After a brief lull towards the end of the century and early years of the 2000s, Barcelona rose like the proverbial phoenix. Under another club legend, Pep Guardiola, the Blaugrana attained even more success in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The club won three consecutive league titles and two Champions Leagues, including their first of two continental trebles during this period.
Unsurprisingly, many of the top players to have played for Barcelona played for the club in one of these two periods. On that note, here's a look at the top ten players in Barcelona history:
#10 Luis Suarez (1960 Ballon d'Or winner)
Luis Suarez (not to be confused with his Uruguayan namesake who also played for Barcelona) was one of the Blaugrana's first superstars.
The former Spain international was a prolific striker during his playing days between the 50s and 70s. Although he spent only six seasons at Barcelona, Suarez played a key role in their domestic double in 1959. The 86-year-old, though, failed to score as the Blaugrana fell to Benfica in the 1961 European Cup (now called the Champions League) final.
Nevertheless, before his European Cup exploits, Suarez won the Ballon d'Or award, becoming the Barcelona player to do so.
Luis Suarez, CF Barcelona, 1960 Ballon d’Or winner. Source: Football Magazine (via, Foot Nostalgie) http://t.co/7snsDBSOCY
More than six decades later, Suarez, who scored over 60 goals for Barcelona, remains the only men's Spanish player to win the Ballon d'Or.
#9 Hristo Stoichkov (1994 Ballon d'Or winner)
Hristo Stoichkov was a prominent member of Barcelona's dream team in the early 1990s that conquered Spain and Europe.
One of Bulgaria's best-ever players, Stoichkov played a key role in the Blaugrana winning five La Liga titles in eight years and the 1991-92 European Cup. He enjoyed his most prolific campaign in 1993-94, scoring 24 goals across competitions as Barcelona won the domestic double.
G⚽️AL OF THE DAY
💥 Stoichkov https://t.co/mlM7sb0h25
Later that summer, Stoichkov led Bulgaria to a surprise run to the semi-finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup. A few months later, the Bulgarian became the third Barcelona player to win the Ballon d'Or.
During his successful seven-season stint at Camp Nou, the winger netted over 100 goals and provided 30 assists.
#8 Gerard Pique
Gerard Pique is one of the best active goalscoring defenders in the game at the moment.
The 34-year-old is a bonafide Barcelona legend, making almost 600 appearances for the club and winning trophies galore. Pique has won eight La Liga titles and two continental trebles with the Blaugrana. He recently became the joint-most prolific goalscoring defender in Champions League history as well.
16 - Gerard Piqué 🇪🇸 has scored 16 goals in the @ChampionsLeague (14 goals for @FCBarcelona), equalling Roberto Carlos 🇧🇷 as the highest-scoring defender in the competition’s history. Titan. https://t.co/ofUrn33YL2
The former Manchester United defender is one of a handful of players to have won the Champions League in successive seasons with two different clubs. Although he is seemingly on the decline now, Pique remains a key player under his former teammate and current Barcelona manager Xavi.
#7 Ronald Koeman (former Barcelona manager)
Ronald Koeman, like Stoichkov, was one of the key players of Barcelona's dream team of the early 90s.
The former Barcelona manager is one of the best goalscoring defenders in the game's history. Koeman, a set-piece specialist with a penchant of scoring from distance, used to operate as a 'sweeper'.
His tally of 86 goals for the club would put many attackers to shame. One of Koeman's strikes sealed Barcelona's triumph in the 1991-92 European Cup final, a year before the competition was rebranded as the Champions League.
Koeman banging in the goals for Barca 💪
https://t.co/KojXW6vkYu
Koeman scored a staggering 44 times in Barcelona's four successive La Liga triumphs between 1991 and 1994. That included an impressive 16-goal campaign in 1991-92, when Barcelona also won the European Cup.