10 footballers who transformed their clubs

These footballers had a tremendous impact on their clubs
These footballers had a tremendous impact on their clubs

#4 Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi.

He might have fallen out of love with the club and then decided to stay in the most dramatic and protracted saga in world football in recent times, but one cannot doubt the fact that Lionel Messi transformed FC Barcelona.

As part of the magical team coached by Pep Guardiola, Messi weaved his magic alongside fellow stalwarts Andres Iniesta and Xavi as the Blaugrana toyed with defences in Spain and Europe.

Consider this, before the Messi era, Barcelona had only won one Champions League title, doing so in 1991-92. But the putative best player in the world arrived on the scene and subsequently helped Barcelona win four in rather lightning-quick succession in a competition where he became the first player to score against 34 different opponents last season.

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#3 Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard.
Frank Lampard.

Chelsea's favourite son also played a huge role in transforming the club he now coaches with the same passion. Before Frank Lampard became the most influential midfielder in Chelsea's history, they had won only one league title back in the fifties.

But with Lampard running the show for the rejuvenated Blues, the London club won three EPL titles and also the Champions League as Chelsea became a giant of the English game and a force to be reckoned with in Europe and never looking back since.

#2 Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho.

Before Lionel Messi, there was Ronaldinho. It can be argued that the Brazilian with the dazzling Samba skills began the revolution that Messi and Co. carried forward for Barcelona. A complete attacker, Ronaldinho, bamboozled oppositions in a Blaugrana shirt on the way to a bevvy of personal awards and success for the club.

Two La Liga wins and a Champions League triumph only tell a part of the picture as Ronaldinho helped initiate the process through which Barcelona would become the most feared and respected team in Europe in the next decade.

#1 Sergio Aguero

Sergio Aguero.
Sergio Aguero.

One could have picked from a host of players who were a part of the rise of Manchester City as the best team in England. But Sergio Aguero fits the bill better than arguably anybody else.

If he had done nothing else, Aguero would have been remembered forever by the City faithful for only that dramatic last-minute goal against QPR during the 2011-12 season that sent the City of Manchester Stadium into a frenzy as City won their first Premier League title by pipping fierce rivals Manchester United to the post.

But Aguero would do a lot more. He effortlessly transitioned into the Pep Guardiola era, becoming one of the greatest forwards in Premier League history, as City became the biggest team in England before Liverpool rose to challenge their authority.

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