5 former Barcelona players Xavi would have loved in his current team

#3 Carles Puyol

Netherlands v Spain: 2010 FIFA World Cup Final

Xavi wanted to bring Dani Alves back to the Barcelona dressing room in order to address the issue of a lack of inspiring personalities and leadership figures in the team. No leader has been more inspiring in the history of Barcelona than Carles Puyol.

Puyol and Xavi were the leadership figures for much of Barcelona and Spain's glorious history in the new millennium. There were also reports that Xavi wanted his former teammate back at the club in an advisory role.

With figures like Puyol, Valdes and Mascherano in the dressing room, the Catalan side wouldn’t have suffered mental collapses that resulted in dramatic Champions League results recently.

Besides, Gerard Pique is no longer the player he once was and head coach Xavi can no longer depend on his former team-mate to be an undisputed starter. Pique’s lapses in defence combined with the lack of a strong supporting partner has contributed to a chronic case where Barcelona have conceded goals by the dozen.

Although Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia look promising, Carles Puyol would be an immediate improvement as the leader of the backline, if he was still around.

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#2 Samuel Eto’o

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The signings of Luuk de Jong and Martin Braithwaite sum up everything that is wrong with the club in the last few years. Neither of those players have what it takes to play for a club as big as Barcelona and under more competent management, shouldn’t have been signed in the first place.

Sergio Aguero has had his fair share of injury concerns and is no longer the gun striker that he once was at Manchester City while Memphis Depay isn’t exactly a striker. Samuel Eto’o represented the Barcelona colors for five glorious seasons and was a prolific goalscorer. He’s the eight highest scorer in the club’s history with 130 goals to his name.

Eto’o was also brilliant at combining with the other forwards and often set up his team-mates with a key pass or a through ball. The striker from Cameroon was also on the scoresheet in both the 2006 and 2008 Champions League finals and Barcelona could certainly do with a player like him now.

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#1 Lionel Messi

FC Barcelona v Levante UD - La Liga

In his very first press conference as the official coach of FC Barcelona, Xavi was enquired about Lionel Messi who had to leave so tragically in the summer. When asked about whether he’d loved to manage Messi, Xavi said:

“Messi, [Samuel] Eto’o, Ronaldinho, of course, but they are not here. Messi is a great friend, he texted me good luck. But we cannot think about the players that are not here.”

Although his answer was quite platonic, there is nothing else that Xavi would’ve loved more than to manage one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Understandably, he shared a cordial relationship with the diminutive Argentine. The worst part about Messi’s departure this summer is that Barcelona had to lose him on a free as his contract expired.

Obviously, when it comes to a player as big as Messi, the club would always have suffered after his departure. Barcelona sent left-winger Francisco Trincao on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers and haven’t trusted young player Yusuf Demir on the left flank as a replacement.

Ousmane Dembele is the only suitable tactical replacement but his injury record makes him far from reliable. Thus, the club is not only lacking someone to replace Messi’s goalscoring and creative prowess, but a player in general.