5 of the worst strikers in Barcelona's history

Barcelona is one of the most popular, successful and historic clubs on the planet. The Catalan club pride themselves on competing and challenging across all fronts every season.

Barcelona have built the foundation for such consistent success upon the graduates of their prized La Masia academy. Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Gerard Pique, Pedro and many others have played a significant role in making them one of the best teams in the world.

Of course, their popularity has also meant they spent money on players from other teams who they believe would make for an upgrade on their current squad. With strikers almost always coming at a premium price, the Catalans have had their fair share of both success and failure when it comes to luring these marksmen to the Camp Nou.

While the likes of Ronaldo Nazario, Samuel Eto’o and Luis Suarez have set the world alight with some remarkable displays, there have been those who have failed to make any mark whatsoever in the first team.

Here is our take on who we believe are 5 of the worst strikers in Barcelona’s history.

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#5 Javier Saviola

Saviola arrived in Barcelona in 2001 from the Argentinian side, River Plate, with a burgeoning reputation for being one of the best young forwards on the planet. He had made the move to the Camp Nou after a few stellar seasons in Argentina that saw him score goals for fun and win the South American Footballer of the Year award. He was even being touted as a successor to the legendary Diego Maradona.

While not an atrocious player by any means, he failed to live up to the lofty expectations placed on him when he donned the Blaugrana shirt. He scored 21, 20, and 19 goals in his first three seasons with Barcelona before being loaned out to Monaco and Sevilla; eventually returning for another season.

He was then allowed to leave for arch-rivals Real Madrid on a free.

Saviola managed to score a total of 49 goals in 123 league appearances; a tidy tally, but nowhere near the ceiling he was projected to reach.

#4 Maxi Lopez

Lopez' tenure at Barca turned out to be a nightmare

Lopez was yet another highly regarded youngster who graduated from the famed River Plate academy before switching to the Spanish shores with Barcelona. After having made his debut as a 17-year-old, he scored 17 goals for the Argentinian side before eventually transferring to Barcelona in January 2005 for €6.2 million.

His time at the Camp Nou was, however, nothing short of a nightmare. The Argentine failed to break into the first team during his two seasons with the club, managing to make only 19 appearances in which he scored two goals.

Lopez would soon be allowed to leave on loan to Mallorca before being sold to FC Moscow. He’s had a journeyman career since then, having had spells at clubs such as Gremio, Catania, Milan, Sampdoria and Chievo.

#3 Alfonso Perez

Perez failed to thrill the fans of Barca

Alfonso Perez, a graduate of Real Madrid's youth academy, had to move on from the capital city after failing to establish himself at the Santiago Bernabeu.

In a few years, however, he had managed to make a name for himself at Real Betis. Never a flashy player, Barcelona, though, signed him for €16.5 million following the departure of Luis Figo to Real Madrid.

Perez, however, failed to recapture his form at the Camp Nou. His spell in Catalunya was disastrous, with the striker managing to score a paltry two goals in 21 games during his two-year spell with Barcelona, after having scored 57 in 152 appearances for Betis.

An unsuccessful loan spell with Marseille followed, with the striker eventually returning to Betis and scoring another 10 goals in 45 games before retiring from the game in 2005.

While he never made it at Barcelona, he still managed to earn 38 caps with the Spanish national team in which he scored 11 goals.

#2 Santiago Ezquerro

Ezquerro had to play second fiddle to Messi

Ezquerro was a veteran striker in La Liga when he joined Barcelona in 2005. Whilst having had spells at Osasuna, Atletico Madrid, and Mallorca, his seven-year stint with Athletic Bilbao is what eventually attracted the Catalans’ attention.

Already 28 at the time, Ezquerro had the unfortunate luck of joining the club as a forward during the same time as the emergence of Lionel Messi. He was never able to establish himself in the first team and his best league campaign with the club consisted of 12 games in his first year – a season where he managed two goals in three starts and just 469 minutes of action.

Having endured a miserable time in Barcelona, he was not granted a free transfer request in 2007/08 and was virtually absent for the entirety of the campaign. He was eventually allowed to leave at the end of that campaign for Osasuna, where he played another 10 games and scored a solitary goal, before retiring from the game at the age of just 33.

#1 Jeffren Suarez

Jeffren looked out of place in Barca's star-studded lineup

Sadly for the Catalans, this Suarez had a significantly smaller impact than the one they got from Liverpool. The Venezuelan moved to Spain when he was 15 and joined the famed Barcelona youth set up. In three full seasons with the Barcelona B side, he suffered relegation from the Segunda division during one campaign but then helped the side get promoted the following one.

Eventually getting called up to the first team by Pep Guardiola in 2006, he seemed primed to make an impact, impressing during the pre-season. However, that’s as good as things got for the forward.

He spent the vast majority of his time in Catalonia behind much more established names and managed to play only 22 games in three years, scoring three goals and looking out-of-sorts in a Barcelona side filled with world class talent.

He was eventually allowed to leave for Sporting in Portugal and after a brief spell at Valladolid, he now plies his trade in Thailand with Lamphun Warrior.