5 players from Barcelona who are/were better for their national teams

#3 Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas with the World Cup trophy

This is the classic story of the right player at the wrong time for Barcelona. Cesc Fabregas was the prodigal son returning to the hallowed ground, and was supposed to be the long-term replacement for Xavi.

But, the former Arsenal man found it hard to get into the team in midfield with Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, and Sergio Busquets as the first choice and was instead played in the false nine position for most of his career at Barcelona. Finally, he left Barcelona after three seasons for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.

However, despite the same three players in the Spain squad, he was much better for Spain, being one of the standout players as the Spaniards picked up their third international trophy in a row at European Championships in 2012.