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No team is complete without a top striker who can convert all the chances created into goals on a regular basis. Modern football has evolved a lot but a striker who can rise above the rest or sniff out opportunities remains as important as ever. Barcelona have been been able to field some of the finest strikers of all time.
Though the lion's share of their goals in the 21st century have been scored by a certain Lionel Messi, Barcelona have had their share of great strikers as well. Thanks to their legacy, Barcelona have consistently been able to lure some of the best strikers in the world to the Camp Nou.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the greatest strikers to have played for Barcelona in the modern era.
#5 Romario (Barcelona 1993-1995)
Romario played for Barcelona for only two years. He joined Johan Cruyff's 'Dream Team' in 1993 and played alongside Hristov Stoichkov, Pep Guardiola, Michael Laudrup and Ronald Koeman.
Romario was an instant hit, scoring 30 goals from 33 matches in the league to help Barcelona lift the La Liga title. The team were so good that it translated to arrogance on the pitch and led to an anticlimactic loss in the 1994 UEFA Champions League final at the hands of AC Milan.
Though he was only with the Blaugrana for a couple of seasons, there are fond memories of his that the fans will forever hold on to. He once nutmegged Peter Schmeichel at Old Trafford before scoring a Champions League goal after which the then Manchester United captain Steve Bruce hailed Romario as arguably the best player he has ever faced.
He has also scored a hattrick against Real Madrid in an El Clasico at the Camp Nou. Romario earned the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 1994. He scored a total of 53 goals from 83 games for Barcelona and unfortunately left the club in 1995 after falling out with none other than Johan Cruyff.
#4 Ronaldo Nazario (Barcelona 1996-1997)
Having just played one season at Barcelona, it could be argued that the legendary Brazilian does not deserve a place up here. For all the wonderful, eye-catching football they've played, Barcelona have only rarely played with out-and-out strikers who can mesmerize the opposition and fans alike as O Fenomeno could.
Ronaldo joined Barcelona in 1996 for a then world-record fee of $19.5 million. He hit the ground running and immediately became a nightmare for La Liga defenders. It was nearly impossible to dispossess Ronaldo.
He had all the attributes that a striker needed- he was pacy, had unreal close control, always kept his head in the box and almost always got around the goalkeeper to poke the ball into the back of the net.
His goalscoring return in that season is the stuff of legends having garnered 47 goals from 49 games. He led Barcelona to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in addition to Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana triumphs. He was all of 20 years of age at the time and became the youngest player to win the FIFA World Player of the Year title.
#3 David Villa (Barcelona 2010-2013)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's stint at Barcelona is widely tagged underwhelming as he failed to justify the hype owing to a number of reasons. Pep Guardiola realized that the situation needed to be negotiated and he decided to bring in David Villa from Valencia.
David Villa was already on his way to becoming one of the deadliest Spanish strikers of the modern era and he was the perfect fit for a dominant Barcelona side. Villa ended up leading the line for the finest Barcelona team to have been assembled in the 21st century.
David Villa's influence was so strong that it's said that it is his absence that cost Barcelona the 2011/12 Champions League and the La Liga titles and that it is his return from injury that helped them reclaim the La liga title next season.
David Villa was a ruthless attacker and his versatility and selflessness made him a one-of-a-kind option on the field. By the time Villa left for Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2013, he had scored 48 goals for the Blaugrana from 119 games.
#2 Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona 2004-2009)
Another top striker that Pep Guardiola just could not get along with, the way Samuel Eto'o was sold from Barcelona did absolutely no justice to his service. It was extremely anti-climactic because Eto'o scored 36 goals in Pep's first season as the Barcelona manager where they won the treble.
Eto'o was one of the finest strikers of his generation packing lethal pace, incredible trickery and instinctive finishing ability. The Cameroonian was nearly unstoppable in his day and he was the shining light of Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona side which suffered greatly in his absence due to injury.
Eto'o was also a man for the big occasions and scored in both UEFA Champions League finals that he played in and won the most prestigious European title both times.
Before Lionel Messi took over at Barcelona, it could be said that Samuel Eto'o was perhaps their main man. Eto'o scored a whopping 130 goals from a total of 199 games for the Cules before moving to Inter Milan in July 2009.
#1 Luis Suarez (Barcelona 2014-2020)
Yet another great player who was not given the sending off that he deserves, it will be heartbreaking for Barcelona fans to see him line up for the Rojiblancos from this season onwards. Luis Suarez is arguably the greatest striker of his generation and is easily the greatest Barcelona striker of the modern era.
Unstoppable on his day, Luis Suarez alongside Neymar and Lionel Messi formed the deadliest attacking trio of the 21st century, blasting in goals for fun and leaving defenders writhing with PTSD. The Uruguayan was so prolific that he scored a whopping 59 goals in the 2015/16 season.
He won the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona in the 2014-15 season and has also won four La Liga titles at the club. Suarez is the third-highest goalscorer of all time for Barcelona.
Suarez, at his peak, was hard to keep up with and his incredible movement and understanding of the game made him a striker par none. Luis Suarez has scored 198 goals for Barcelona across six seasons and replacing him will be one of the most difficult tasks that this relatively incompetent Barcelona board will have to do.
