Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and the 25 best Barcelona players of the 21st century so far - ranked

One of the most inspirational figures in Barcelona's history, Eric Abidal played all 90 minutes of the 2011 Champions League final just three months after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour in his liver. In a touching gesture, captain Carles Puyol allowed the Frenchman to be the first to lift the trophy at Wembley, with Abidal admitting, "It was an incredible moment."

Abidal, who was a versatile, intelligent and imposing defender, was subsequently forced to undergo a liver transplant, but showed even more of the remarkable resolve he had demonstrated previously by returning to the field shortly before the expiration of his Barca contract in 2013. "Abidal has been with us for six years and he is a very special person," then-president Sandro Rosell said. "He has won our hearts."

Ivan Rakitic was treated shamefully during his final year at Barcelona, who tried desperately to force him out of the club. "I'm not a sack of potatoes who you can do anything with,” he fumed in April 2020. The Blaugrana's desire to remove him from the wage bill was understandable, given their financial situation and the arrival of Frenkie de Jong, but Rakitic deserved far better treatment and much more respect. 

The all-action midfielder featured in at least 50 games for five of his six seasons at Camp Nou and was a key member of Luis Enrique's treble-winning team, even scoring the opener in the Champions League final win over Juventus. Jose Mourinho had a point, then, when labelled him "one of the most underrated players in the world" in 2019.

Robert Lewandowski is only approaching the midway point of his third year at Barcelona and it's fair to say that he was nowhere near his very best during the 2023-24 campaign. The striker still netted 26 times during his 'off' season, though, and he now has 79 goals in just 113 games.

Lewandowski still has some way to go to become a true Barca legend, but he's already got one Pichichi award for firing the Catalans to the Spanish title in 2022-23, and he's now perfectly placed to repeat the feat, after scoring 15 goals in 14 Liga games to start the current campaign.

"It's amazing to have such a period where you're always scoring," Blaugrana boss Hansi Flick said, "but, for me, he's the best there is in front of goal."

Patrick Kluivert helped Barcelona win La Liga in his first season after joining from AC Milan in the summer of 1998, but a painful period of underachievement followed for the Catalan club - despite the best efforts of the Dutch striker.

As a player schooled in the Ajax academy, Kluivert was a technically excellent centre-forward who was also blessed with height and strength, which he used to both score goals, and create them. The Netherlands international also formed a productive partnership with Rivaldo during his time at Camp Nou and hit 81 goals between the start of the 2000-01 season and his departure four years later.

Yaya Toure once claimed that former Barcelona team-mate Rafa Marquez was "one of the toughest defenders in the world - but people don't remember him because he didn't play in England." The latter claim is open to debate, but the former is not. Marquez may well be underrated by Premier League followers, but the Mexican was revered at Barcelona.

Although Marquez was hindered by injury throughout his seven-year stay at Camp Nou, the ball-playing centre-back, who could also play in midfield, was a protagonist in two Champions League wins, and his partnership with Carles Puyol was considered by many to be even stronger than that of Puyol and Gerard Pique. Even the former Barca captain admitted: "We understood each other better: with Rafa it was always very clear, and he contributed a lot, too, with his great technique. We turned around a complicated situation at the club and won many titles."

It's still difficult to get one's head around the fact that Pedri wasn't schooled at La Masia given he plays like the archetypal Barcelona midfielder: a whir of activity, constantly passing, probing and winning possession, and yet simultaneously looking like he has all the time in the world to do as he pleases.

Pedri is still only 21 and has had his injury issues since breaking into the senior squad as a teenager shortly after his 2020 arrival from Las Palmas, but he's already been twice named in La Liga's Team of the Season and has been touted as the new Andres Iniesta by Xavi. "Andres is the greatest talent I've seen in Spanish football but Pedri is very similar to him," the Barca icon said. "He can make a difference... He is already doing so, in fact."

Victor Valdes never hid the fact that he was not an easy character to work with - but Pep Guardiola had no issues with his fellow Catalan. Why? Because Valdes was fearless, utterly unafraid to constantly play the ball out from the back. Even when he made a mistake, Valdes remained undeterred, much to Guardiola's delight. In that sense, he was the perfect Pep goalkeeper.

Consequently, while Valdes' career petered out after leaving Barcelona, he's still considered a Blaugrana legend, having won six Liga titles, three Champions Leagues and five Zamora Trophies during his 12 seasons with the senior side - which helps explain why Xavi says Valdes is the standard against which all other Barcelona goalkeepers must be judged.

Pep Guardiola ended Deco's Barcelona career, dispensing with the Brazil-born Portugal playmaker immediately after taking over in 2008 in an apparent attempt to remove the most influential characters from the dressing room (Ronaldinho was also ousted). Deco had also been plagued by injuries the preceding season but, before that, he had been sensational for a side that put Barca back on their pedestal.

The midfielder wasn't tall, strong or particularly pacey, but he was a sublime passer of the ball with a wonderful ability to control the pace of the game, an artist from a bygone era who managed to thrive in the modern game thanks to flawless technique and pure footballing intelligence. “Deco’s a player I learned a lot from,” Lionel Messi later admitted.

A former Real Madrid player, Luis Enrique had already become a crowd favourite at Camp Nou by the turn of the century, after helping Barcelona win back-to-back La Liga titles, in 1998 and 1999. He wouldn't win another major honour with the club, but he still makes our list because he continued to perform at an exceptionally high level for the Blaugrana and only further cemented his status as one of its most inspirational leaders.

Luis Enrique was a phenomenal footballer, capable of - and willing to - play anywhere on the pitch, but this incredibly combative character was at his best when given licence to break from midfield into attacking areas. Nearly half of his 109 goals for Barca came between 2000 and 2004, and, as a free transfer from their most hated rivals, Luis Enrique is rightly regarded as one of the greatest signings in Barca's history.

During Barcelona's 2022-23 La Liga triumph, Thibaut Courtois was asked if he felt Marc-Andre ter Stegen's "improvement" was key to the Catalans' good form. "No," the Real Madrid No.1 replied, "because he's always been a great goalkeeper!" It was a good point, because Ter Stegen had long been undervalued.

Remember, he was a key member of Barca's 2015 treble winners and many pundits felt that he should have been starting for Germany long before Manuel Neuer finally retired from international football. "I think he's an example on the field and in the dressing room," former coach Xavi said. "He's a captain with capital letters."

Pep Guardiola always felt Pedro was underappreciated outside of Barcelona - and he had a point. When people talk about the key players in the Blaugrana's golden era, his name rarely comes up. But Guardiola considered him "vital", "a role model" and "a great" that "always exceeds expectations. It's easy to understand why.

Pedro was a two-footed winger that provided both penetration and pressing. He also had a serious eye for a goal and made history in 2009 by becoming the first player to score in six different competitions in the same year. "If Pedro was Brazilian," Guardiola argued, "he'd be called Pedrinho and we wouldn't have enough money to afford him!"

Javier Mascherano pushed hard to leave Liverpool for Barcelona, but only because he was so desperate to play for Guardiola. The Argentine was convinced that he had something to offer arguably the finest club side ever assembled, but not even Mascherano thought he'd end up spending "seven-and-a-half spectacular seasons with such a fantastic group of players".

The tenacious defensive midfielder, who also ended up proving himself a world-class centre-back despite his small stature, lined out 334 times for the Blaugrana and lifted 18 trophies. "I think a lot of foreigners who come to play for Barca should follow your example," Xavi said when Barca bid farewell to Mascherano in 2018, "in terms of how you've adapted, and the mark you've made on the dressing room, above all on a personal level and, of course, on a professional level, too."

Jordi Alba is a diminutive offensively-minded left-back who even once usurped Gareth Bale as La Liga's fastest player. No wonder Roberto Carlos has always been a fan. "The explosiveness he possesses makes him just as important in attack as defence," the Brazilian enthused.

Alba was certainly a key component of both Barca's backline and their forward line - primarily because of his almost telepathic understanding with Lionel Messi. "Jordi Alba knows me to perfection," the Argentine told Catalunya Radio. "I have a special connection with him."

Time and time again during their nine seasons together at Camp Nou, their pair crafted goals all by themselves, with Messi finding Alba out wide before racing towards the box to get on the end of the inevitably perfect cut-back. It was so simple, but so effective and played such a pivotal part in Barca’s success.

If we could take pre-2000 performances into account, Rivaldo would be right up near the top of this list. He's easily one of the five most talented forwards ever to play for Barcelona. As it is, we're only working with two-and-a-half seasons' worth of games. The thing is, though, Rivaldo still scored 61 goals during that time, including the frankly ludicrous last-minute overhead-kick winner against Valencia that secured Barcelona a spot in the 2001-02 Champions League at Los Che's expense.

It was an absurd piece of skill that summed up Rivaldo's genius, as most players wouldn't have even had the audacity to attempt such a shot in the circumstances, let alone had the God-given talent to pull it off. As Ruud Gullit said, "Rivaldo in his prime was an exceptional player - with that wonderfully creative South American style."

Pep Guardiola is obviously one of the greatest coaches of all time, but he didn't want Samuel Eto'o at Barcelona, which remains difficult to explain. Guardiola even tried to get rid of the forward before the start of his first season in charge. Luckily for him, he failed, with Eto'o proving utterly integral to Barca's treble triumph by scoring 36 times in all competitions, including the crucial opener in the Champions League final win over Manchester United.

Of course, Guardiola finally managed to move Eto'o on after that historic night in Rome - a predictably disastrous decision, as the Cameroonian helped Inter dethrone Barca as European champions 12 months later - but the explosive striker left with his legacy intact. The impressively versatile Eto'o scored 130 goals for Barca and he was, as Messi said, "a complete player" with "a constant desire to win".

Both Ronaldo and Ronaldinho were in no doubt: Neymar would become the best player in the world at Barcelona - and he came incredibly close. There were times during his spell in Catalunya when he actually managed to upstage Lionel Messi with his awesome array of tricks and flicks. He was the Argentine's obvious heir, the kind of generational talent that Barca could build a team around when Messi eventually moved on.

But it was Neymar who left first, having grown weary of waiting to take centre stage at Camp Nou. It was a blow for Barca, but an even bigger shame for Neymar, the wing wizard that has since failed miserably to reproduce the magic that saw him score 105 goals and create a further 59 during just four seasons with the Blaugrana.

Wayne Rooney says Sir Alex Ferguson sold Gerard Pique because the centre-back wasn't cut out for the physicality of the Premier League - while the Scot has insisted that it was more to do with the Catalan's desire to return to Barcelona. Whatever the truth, Manchester United's loss was Barca's considerable gain.

Pique was sometimes criticised during the early part of his Blaugrana career for making too many mistakes, but he developed into such an accomplished defender that he was nicknamed 'Piquenbauer', and ended up winning nine Spanish titles and three Champions Leagues. "Gerard leaves a spectacular legacy," Sergio Busquets said when Pique retired in 2022. "He is the example of what a Barca player is and what he must do."

Dani Alves was easily one of the most important signings of the Pep Guardiola era at Barcelona, with the Brazilian arriving shortly after the Catalan took over in the summer of 2008.

The Blaugrana paid Sevilla an initial €28m (£23m/$29m); it proved a bargain. Alves was the perfect right-back for Guardiola's Barca, a multi-talented footballer capable of playing pretty much anywhere on the pitch, with his pace not only enabling him to bomb forward but also hare back into position when the ball was lost. Alves was also highly adaptable and remained a key component of the Barca line-up long after Guardiola left, winning three Champions Leagues before leaving for Juventus in 2016.

Alves is currently facing four-and-a-half years in jail after being found guilty of rape in February 2024.

As a no-nonsense centre-back, Carles Puyol openly admitted, "I don't have Romario's technique, [Marc] Overmars' pace or [Patrick] Kluivert's strength. But I work harder than the others. I'm like the student who is not as clever, but revises for his exams and does OK in the end." Puyol did more than OK in the end. The Catalan is an all-too-rare one-club legend, having spent his entire professional career playing for Barca - and he was captain for 10 of his 15 years at Camp Nou.

According to Xavi, Puyol was the key to the Blaugrana's sustained success "not just because he was one of the best defenders in the world, but because of his character - he never lets up." Consequently, 'The Shark' is considered one of the finest leaders in Barca's history. "I felt protected," Pique said when his long-time central defensive partner retired in 2014. "You were my guardian angel."

The first time Cesar Luis Menotti watched Sergio Busquets play, he called a friend and said, "I have just seen a player from an extinct species!" Busquets really was something of an anomaly in modern football, a defensive midfielder that was more elegant than athletic, but he regained possession as brilliantly as he retained it.

Busquets was just as integral to Barca's success as Xavi and Andres Iniesta - with whom he formed the finest midfield trio of all time - but he never really got the credit he deserved from the wider public. Vicente del Bosque put it best when he said, "If you watch the whole game, you won't see Busquets - but watch Busquets, and you will see the whole game."

Ronaldinho was the catalyst for Barca’s 21st century success. "It had been a tough time for the club,” Lionel Messi acknowledged, "and the change that came about with his arrival was amazing.” The Brazilian's impact was instantaneous, with Ronaldinho scoring a stunner on his debut against Sevilla in September 2003 - the first of countless astounding strikes for the Blaugrana.

The No.10 didn't just thrill Camp Nou, though. Indeed, when Frank Rijkaard said that "the whole world adores him", he wasn't wrong. Even the Santiago Bernabeu stood to acclaim one of the most gifted players of all time, a human highlight reel capable of things nobody had ever even thought of before - let alone seen. Could he have achieved more? Absolutely. But the mere mention of Ronaldinho’s name still makes football fans smile - and that’s one hell of a legacy.

Barcelona were so desperate to sign Luis Suarez that they paid Liverpool £75 million ($95m) for his services while the unpredictable Uruguayan was still suspended for biting yet another opponent. It didn't take long, though, for the ultimate street footballer (it was often joked that he was so skilful he could nutmeg a Mermaid!) to prove himself a risk well worth taking, with Suarez scoring 25 times as Barca won the treble in his first season at Camp Nou.

The finest centre-forward of his generation won the European Golden Shoe the following year, and by the time he was stupidly sold to Atletico Madrid, whom he immediately fired to the Liga title, Suarez's Barcelona record read 198 goals in 283 appearances in all competitions. Given his work-rate matched his strike-rate, it's easy to understand why Messi was disgusted by the departure by "one of the most important players in the club's history".

A disturbing amount of football fans in a modern era obsessed with goals and assists don't rate Andres Iniesta too highly, which says more about them than a player who was a pure joy to behold, a quiet yet determined character that always rose to the occasion.

Iniesta played the game at his own pace because he was capable of simply gliding past opponents, but this was a quiet but competitive character who always rose to the occasion - whether it was a World Cup final for Spain or a Champions League semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge.

In total, Iniesta won nine Spanish titles with Barca, and four Champions Leagues, but he'll be more remembered for his genius rather than his trophy tally. "People have compared him to me and I can see the similarities," Zinedine Zidane said, "but let me tell you: that is an honour for me!"

Xavi personifies the concept of 'Barca DNA'. This was a Catalan who learned everything there was to learn at La Masia and, upon graduating to the first team, promptly went about schooling team-mates and opponents in the art of passing. Even Diego Maradona referred to him as "The Professor of Football" and once pleaded with him not to retire because "when he has the ball, the world smiles."

Xavi was the beating heart of Barca's midfield for more than 15 years, the man who made the whole team tick. Even in an era when the importance of deep-lying midfielders was so often overlooked, Xavi was revered by his peers, named in the FIFPRO Team of the Year six seasons in a row between 2007 and 2013. As former Barca team-mate Thiago Alcantara said, "Xavi is one of those players that has made Barcelona what it is today."

Who else? Lionel Messi cemented his status as the greatest player of all time by leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022, but it was with Barcelona that he did all the groundwork. After exploding onto the scene as a teenager, ‘La Pulga’ achieved a level of sustained excellence that had never been seen before. As Jorge Valdano once said, "Maradona was Maradona sometimes. Messi is Maradona every day."

Messi's scoring starts are insane. He netted 672 times for Barca in 778 games. But he was about so much more than goals. He was a threat every single time he picked up possession - no matter where he was on the field - because he was a devastating dribbler blessed with a wondrous range of passing that perfectly complemented his incredible vision. What else is there left to say? Messi is Barca's GOAT - and everyone else's too.