Barcelona fans vote for club's greatest ever player; Lionel Messi not first

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi is sure to go down as one of the greatest footballers of all time whenever he decides to hang up his boots. The Argentine maestro has broken several long-standing records in his time at the Camp Nou and is still going strong despite entering his 30s.

Recently, fan poll site Ranker asked Barcelona fans across the world to pick the greatest player in the club's history. While the poll has no end date, which means the rankings could change at any time, Lionel Messi was second on the list at the time of writing, with Bulgarian great Hristo Stoichkov occupying the top spot.

Stoichkov is undoubtedly one of the best footballers in Barcelona's history, but Lionel Messi's accomplishments over the course of his illustrious career make him one of the all-time greats. The Argentine has won a staggering six Ballon d'Or awards and leads Barcelona's leaderboard in goals, assists and appearances, while he is also the club's captain.

𝟒𝟔𝟕 𝐆𝐎𝐀𝐋𝐒Lionel Messi breaks the record for most goals in a single European league 🐐 pic.twitter.com/iepvSvs8b6

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 21, 2021

At the time of writing, Stoichkov had a total of 14,482 votes, while Lionel Messi only had 5,567 to his name. Andres Iniesta, Johan Cruyff and Xavi completed the rest of the top five, while Ronaldinho, Ronaldo Nazario and Carles Puyol were some other notable names in the top ten.

Lionel Messi could leave Barcelona at the end of the season

FC Barcelona v Real Sociedad - La Liga

Lionel Messi has been in stunning form this season and is enjoying his football under Ronald Koeman. However, speculation surrounding his future is set to intensify in the coming weeks, as he enters the final few months of his contract.

Despite handing in a transfer request last summer, Lionel Messi opted to stay at the club for the 2020-21 campaign. However, he could leave Barcelona at the end of the current season, with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City keeping tabs on his future.

🎁 Most clear-cut chances created by league this season🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bruno Fernandes - 17🇪🇸 Lionel Messi - 16🇮🇹 Rodrigo De Paul - 18🇩🇪 Filip Kostic - 16🇫🇷 Mempis Depay - 16🇳🇱 Dusan Tadic - 19🇵🇹 Alejandro Grimaldo - 14🇷🇺 Artem Dzyuba - 9🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 James Tavernier - 11 pic.twitter.com/jmApYEpR8Q

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) March 28, 2021

While he could reunite with former manager Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium, the prospect of joining forces with Neymar once again could tempt him into sealing a move to Paris.

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