'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Barcelona are one of the most successful clubs in world football. They have a storied past and continue to mount challenges on all fronts each season. The Camp Nou has been home to some of the greatest players to have graced the game.
Barcelona have always had a great mixture of homegrown and foreign players
Barcelona have consistently fielded some of the greatest Spanish players. The Spanish side that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup had several Barcelona players in their starting lineup. Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol started the World Cup final and they were all Barcelona players at the time.
Barcelona's famed La Masia has consistently produced some of the greatest talents in the game. But they've also been able to rope in some incredible players from other countries and their role in Barcelona's successes cannot be undervalued.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the best foreign players to ever play for Barcelona.
#5 Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon)
The 'indomitable lion' Samuel Eto'o is one of the greatest strikers to have played for Barcelona. He grabbed Barcelona's attention during his stint with Mallorca. The Catalans paid £24.3 million in 2004 to secure his services and he proved to be a signing worth every single penny they spent.
Eto'o was pacy, technically proficient, tactically intelligent and was a complete number 9. He could score all types of goals and seemed unfazed in the face of adverse scenarios. In a total of 199 appearances for Barcelona, Eto'o scored a whopping 130 goals.
He scored in two Champions League finals for Barcelona and was the main striker in the team that won the continental treble in 2009. It was baffling to the fans that Barcelona decided to pay £59 million and send Samuel Eto'o the other way to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic later that summer.
Eto'o's Barcelona career spanned five years and he won three La Liga titles and two UEFA Champions League titles during that time. Selling him is still seen as one of the worst decisions ever made by Pep Guardiola in his managerial career.
#4 Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
Arguably the greatest striker of his generation, Luis Suarez was absolutely brilliant for Barcelona. Yet another player who was shown the exit door in unceremonious fashion, Suarez deserved to leave the club as a hero.
He had become a renowned goalscorer at Ajax by the time Liverpool came knocking for him. After tearing it up in the Premier League for the Merseysiders and winning the European Golden Shoe in the 2014 season, Suarez joined Barcelona.
At Barcelona, he formed part of the 'MSN' (Messi, Suarez and Neymar) which went on to become one of the most dominant attacking trios in the history of the game. The Uruguayan international made 283 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona, scoring 198 goals and providing 113 assists.
He won four La Liga titles, one UEFA Champions League title, four Copa Del Reys and two Supercopa de Espanas with Barcelona before joining Atletico Madrid in 2020.
#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 and was the best footballer in the world while he was at 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 lotof 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)
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.
