#3 Ronaldinho (Brazil)
Ronaldinho might very well be the most exciting and adored player to have worn the red and blue kit of the Catalans. The Brazilian had an exuberant personality which translated to some wonderful performances on the pitch. He truly had magic in his feet. Ronaldinho was considered to be the best footballer in the world while he was at Barcelona.
Video Ronaldinho performance in Barcelona
Frank Rijkaard signed Ronaldinho in 2003 from Paris Saint-Germain and made him the focal point of his team’s attack. The Brazilian’s wonderful dribbling ability coupled with his understanding of the game made him a nightmare to defend against.
He spent five seasons with Barcelona and won a lot of trophies. Ronaldinho is also one of the very few players to have received a standing ovation at the Santiago Bernabeu, the home ground of bitter rivals Real Madrid.
He won the Ballon d’Or in 2005 and won one Champions League title, two La Liga titles and two Supercopa de Espanas with Barcelona.
#2 Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
No other player has had as much impact on Barcelona’s footballing culture as Johan Cruyff has had. He is the visionary that built modern-day Barcelona. Not only was he a champion footballer for the Catalans but he also had a successful stint as the manager of the club later on.
Cruyff joined Barcelona in 1973 and immediately transformed them into one of the strongest sides in Europe. Despite his heroics, Barcelona only won one La Liga title and one Copa Del Rey during the five seasons Cruyff spent at the Camp Nou.
He returned as coach in 1988 and built the ‘Johan Cruyff dream team’ which won one Champions League title, four La Liga titles, three Supercopa de Espanas and one Copa Del Rey. Cruyff invented the tiki-taka style that has now become a characteristic feature of Barcelona’s style of play.
Cruyff is one of the greatest footballers of all time and Barcelona were blessed to have had him as both a player and a manager. In 173 games for Barcelona, the attacking midfielder scored 59 goals.
#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina)
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And now the Cherry on this Pie!
Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest footballer of all time and has only played for Barcelona in his club career. Groomed by La Masia, Messi is the epitome of footballing greatness. The diminutive forward has been breaking records and dragging Barcelona forward for a decade and a half now.
Of course, he has been blessed with extremely talented teammates but Messi is just on a different level. He has won the La Liga Golden Boot eight times. He recently broke Xavi’s record of 767 appearances for Barcelona. The Argentine also recently broke Pele’s record of 644 goals for Santos, the most goals scored for a single club.
In 778 appearances across all competitions for Barcelona, Messi has scored 672 goals and provided 305 assists. He has won the La Liga title 10 times. In addition to that, Messi has won four Champions League titles, seven Copa Del Reys, seven Supercopa de Espanas and three FIFA Club World Cups with Barcelona.
Messi has won the Ballon d’Or a record six times and finished the 2020-21 season as the top scorer in La Liga. Having won the Copa America with Argentina this summer, Messi has become one of the top contenders for the Ballon d’Or yet again.
