Ranking Barcelona's right-backs since Dani Alves

Dani Alves is back at Barcelona. At the age of 38, the Brazilian stalwart has made a return to Nou Camp, the place he left a historical imprint upon.

Alves left the club after eight years of service in 2016, owing to a dispute with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Barcelona have struggled to replace him since then. In fact, the situation deteriorated so much, that current boss Xavi had to call his old friend back to the club. Alves hasn't disappointed either, assisting on his first game back at Nou Camp.

Let's look at all the right-backs who have played for Barca in between the two tenures of Alves and rank them.

Note: Douglas has also been contracted to the club during this time period but he didn't make any appearances, so he isn't included in the list.

#5 Moussa Wague

Moussa Wague signed for Barcelona in 2018

Moussa Wague signed for Barcelona B in 2018 for €5 million. He is in fifth place because he has barely played for the first team. He has played less than 500 minutes in total for the club.

He had two loan spells - at Nice and Panathanaikos. Wague was decent in both France and Greece. But in December 2020, he suffered a horrific injury attempting a goal-saving challenge and hasn't played since.

Wague has started training again now. He is only 23 years old and should hopefully have a long career ahead.

#4 Oscar Mingueza

This might be slightly unfair on Mingueza, given he's not a natural right back. Nevertheless, he's played there for the Catalans whenever required. He was promoted to the first team last season.

Oscar Mingueza in action at right-back for Barcelona

He is a poor crosser of the ball. Moreover, since he is not a natural full back, he lacks the spacial awareness of that position both while attacking and defending. He is a done a bare minimum job of covering up but is much better when used as a centre-back.

#3 Nelson Semedo

The lasting image of Nelson Semedo in a Barcelona shirt is that of Alphonso Davies running him ragged when Bayern Munich beat them 8-2 in Europe.

Semedo was bought from Benfica as a young talent for a sizeable fee. But it did not work out at all. Perhaps the most damning assessment of his time at Barcelona was the fact that he failed to consolidate his spot as a starter.

Semedo has left the club after a poor spell at Barcelona

Neither was he good defensively, nor did he offer anything going forward. Only 13 goal contributions in 124 games are very ordinary, given the club's dominance in most matches until recently. Now at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Semedo will be looking to put his career back on track.

#2 Sergino Dest

Sergino Dest might be sold by Barcelona this winter

Sergino Dest is another young right back who was brought in to replace Alves. In the last year and a half, Dest has had some great games and shown that he has bags of potential. But on the other hand, he has also had numerous ordinary games.

A lot of it is down to immaturity and questionable decision making because he has the ability to to be a top professional. Barcelona are reportedly looking to sell him but for the time being he'll want to learn from Dani Alves and sharpen the tools of his trade.

#1 Sergi Roberto

Real Madrid v FC Barcelona - La Liga Santander

Sergi Roberto is a player who divides opinion. A lot of Catalan fans are tired of him and want the club to sell him. At the same time, managers seem to like him a lot. Roberto is also the only La Masia player who has made it to the first team regularly after Thiago.

In a way his biggest strength is also his weakness. Being versatile meant that Roberto has barely ever played in his preferred midfield role for the club. Instead, he has been the first choice right back.

Taking everything into account it wouldn't be wrong to say that he did well in a role that wasn't his first choice. His understanding with Luis Suarez was particularly good as the striker scored often from Roberto's assists.

It's difficult to predict at the moment what happens next with Roberto but it's important to give him his due credit.