#6 Javier Mascherano – Barcelona
With the Argentinian having previously played in midfield, it is no surprise that he features in this list of the best ball playing centre-backs.
Aged 33, the Argentine has never lost his composure and is still crucial to Barcelona’s success. Although they have Samuel Umtiti, who is a very good prospect and arguably a very established defender already, Barcelona will struggle to replace Mascherano and his ball playing ability in defence. They signed both Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu before, but neither had the ability to replace Mascherano, emphasising how important and good he is.
His defensive ability has improved and his transformation from central midfielder to centre-back has been remarkable. However, he has not lost his any of his technical ability as he plays an important role in starting Barcelona attacks from as high up the pitch as possible.
His statistics back this up too. Despite playing less games than he would have liked, on average he made 65 passes a game as well as 46 forward passes, all at a 91% success rate. Those are statistics which are better than most players featuring in this list.
