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The Catalan giants are one of the most successful clubs in the world. Some of the greatest players like Xavi Hernandez, Pep Guardiola, Johan Cruyff, Carlos Puyol, Ronaldinho, and Laszlo Kubala have played for the legendary club.
Players come and go at every club. It is a process. Leaving a club like Barcelona is never easy for a player. While some left because of lack of opportunities, there were quite a few instances where players left the club in controversial circumstances.
On that note, let’s take a look at the players who controversially left Barcelona.
#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is arguably one of the best strikers of all-time. The Swedish international was brilliant for Inter Milan in the 2008/09 season and Barcelona wasted no time in bringing him to the Camp Nou that summer.
However, his poor relationship with Pep Guardiola proved to be the root cause for his Barcelona exit, just 12 months after his arrival.
He had disagreements with his manager and Pep wanted him gone. He then moved to Milan and won a Serie A title in 2010/11. He scored 51 goals and assisted 21 more during his two years stay in Italy.
He then moved to PSG in 2012 and dominated the Ligue One for four successful years. Zlatan scored 113 goals and assisted 38 more in his 122 Ligue 1 games. Ibrahimovic could have made the Catalan giants invincible, had he stayed there for few more years.
#4 Dani Alves
Dani Alves is one of the most successful players in Barcelona history. The Brazilian has lifted six La Liga and three UEFA Champions League titles with the Catalan giants in a trophy-laden career at the Camp Nou.
Regarded as one of the best full-backs in the world, Alves is known for his accurate passing, creativity, and overlapping attacking runs. He has assisted 42 goals for Lionel Messi during his stay at the Camp Nou.
However, the Brazilian was let go by the club in 2016 after more than 400 appearances. He revealed,
"Things changed at a club level, and as time went on, I always seemed to be the one in the firing line. 'Dani’s the one who has to go,' they’d say. I just got tired of it. I decided to head off in a new direction and find happiness somewhere else."
Alves insisted his exit was "complicated", the case of a club hierarchy containing "giant egos" forcing him out.
#3 Ronaldo Nazario
The two time World Cup and Ballon d’Or winner was a Barcelona player for just 12 months. Ronaldo joined Barcelona at the age of 19 and went on to score 34 goals and claimed the FIFA World Player of the Year at the age of 20.
However, his stay at the Camp Nou came to a premature end because of issues with the renegotiation of his contract.
Lack of commitment from Barcelona directors and their failure to honour the agreement paved the way for his departure. He moved to Inter Milan in 1997 and scored 49 goals in 68 Serie A games.
He then moved to Real Madrid in 2002 and went on to play 127 La Liga games for the Galacticos.
Ronaldo scored 83 goals in La Liga during his four full seasons at the club and went on to lift the La Liga title twice at the Santiago Bernabeu.
#2 Neymar
The most recent one on this list. Neymar Jr moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain last summer in a world record €222 million deal.
He completed his move to PSG in controversial circumstances following La Liga's attempts to block the transfer.
A technically gifted player, Neymar is one of the best forwards in world football right now. There is absolutely nothing this man cannot do on a football field.
He can score goals, create them, make marauding runs, dribble past players, bring energy to the team, and much more.
The Catalan giants were unhappy with the transfer and made it really hard for PSG and Neymar to complete the transfer. It will go down in history as one of the most protracted and controversial transfers of all-time.
#1 Luis Figo
This is arguably the most controversial transfers in the history of FC Barcelona. Luis Figo was Barcelona's best player in the late 90s. He led them to successive La Liga titles and two Copa del Rey titles.
The Portuguese winger was a star at the Camp Nou and played more than 250 games for the Catalan club.
Florentino Perez, in a bid to win the presidency, masterminded Luis Figo's transfer.to Real Madrid.
A pre-contract agreement was engineered with Luis Figo, which included a €26 million penalty for failing to join Real Madrid. When reports of the deal leaked to the media, the player himself said,
"I want to reassure fans that Luis Figo, with all the certainty in the world, will be at the Camp Nou on July 24 to start the season".
He did not stand true to his own words and was unveiled as a Real Madrid player, for a then world-record fee of €62 million.
Barcelona fans felt they were betrayed, and till now, Figo remains one of the most hated players at the Camp Nou.
