Barcelona are one of the most successful clubs in the world football. They have a storied past and continue to mount challenges on all fronts each season. The Camp Nou has been home to some of the greatest players to have graced the game.
Barcelona have always had a great mixture of homegrown and foreign players
Barcelona have consistently fielded some of the greatest Spanish players. The Spanish side that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup had several Barcelona players in their starting lineup. Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol started the World Cup final and they were all Barcelona players at the time.
Barcelona’s famed La Masia has consistently produced some of the greatest talents in the game. But they’ve also been able to rope in some incredible players from other countries and their role in Barcelona’s successes cannot be undervalued.
Let’s take a look at five of the best foreign players who have played for Barcelona.
#5 Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
The ‘indomitable lion’ Samuel Eto’o is one of the greatest strikers to have played for Barcelona. He grabbed Barcelona’s attention during his stint with Mallorca. The Catalans paid £24.3 million in 2004 to secure his services and he proved to be a signing worth every single penny they spent.
Eto’o was pacy, technically proficient, tactically intelligent and was a complete number 9. He could score all types of goals and seemed unfazed in the face of adverse scenarios. In a total of 199 appearances for Barcelona, Eto’o scored a whopping 130 goals.
Video Samuel Eto’o performance in Barcelona
He scored in two Champions League finals for Barcelona and was the main striker in the team that won the continental treble in 2009. It was baffling to the fans that Barcelona decided to pay £59 million and send Samuel Eto‘o the other way to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic later that summer.
Eto’o’s Barcelona career spanned five years and he won three La Liga titles and two UEFA Champions League titles during that time. Selling him is still seen as one of the worst decisions ever made by Pep Guardiola in his managerial career.
#4 Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
Arguably the greatest striker of his generation, Luis Suarez was absolutely brilliant for Barcelona. Yet another player who was shown the exit door in unceremonious fashion, Suarez deserved to leave the club as a hero. In fact each apearence in any club makes the difference!
At Barcelona, he formed part of the ‘MSN’ (Messi, Suarez and Neymar) which went on to become one of the most dominant attacking trios in the history of the game. The Uruguayan international made 283 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona, scoring 198 goals and providing 113 assists.
He won four La Liga titles, one UEFA Champions League title, four Copa Del Reys and two Supercopa de Espanas with Barcelona before joining Atletico Madrid in 2020. Check free spins without wagering.
