Rating the greatest Barcelona 'number 10s' of all time

Barcelona have had a number of top players play for their club over the years, with the number 10 jersey having some of the best players of the world play for them. Since 1980, Barcelona have had two World Cup winners and five separate Ballon d'Or winners play for them.

The names that have donned the number 10 jersey are absolutely staggering: Diego Maradona, Romario, Rivaldo, Riquelme, Ronaldino and Messi, phew!

Without much ado, let us rank the legendary Barcelona number 10’s:

#6 Juan Roman Riquelme

Juan Roman Riquelme is one of the greatest enigmas of all time. Considered to be one of the most talented players of all time, Riquelme wore the number 10 jersey for Barcelona in 2002 and it is fair to say he did not live up to his full potential at Camp Nou.

Bought for a fee of €11 million from Boca Juniors, Riquelme was supposed to provide flair and creativity to the Barcelona side. However, the glimpses of Riquelme’s talent were few and far in between. 

Barcelona manager Louis Van Gaal described him as a “political signing” and often treated him with indifference deploying him on the wings. Riquelme struggled to gain the confidence of Van Gaal in the season and after the arrival of Ronaldinho in 2003, he was sent out on loan to Villarrreal.

Riquelme promised much, but due to a lack of faith in his abilities by the manager, the Argentine could never play up to his full potential for Barcelona in the number 10 jersey.