Messi, Busquets & Barca’s 10 best players from the beginning of the 21st century

Sergio Busquets has just announced that he will end his illustrious career at Camp Nou. He is among the top 10 Blaugrana players of the 21st century.

10. Gerard Pique
Pique cannot be far from Barcelona. Growing up in a traditional Catalan family, his grandfather was even vice president of Barca back in the day. It is therefore no surprise that Pique regretted moving to Manchester United and returned to his boyhood club in 2008.

It proved to be a great decision on both sides. In his first season back, Pep Guardiola inspired the team to win a historic treble. Pique was a key part of this success, immediately hitting it off with long-time centre-back partner, Carles Puyol.

The first campaign set the tone for an incredible career. Over the next 14 years, he was hardly absent from the starting lineup, helping the team win countless major titles.

He ended his tenure as age began to catch up, but his commitment to his career never wavered – evidenced by him accepting multiple pay cuts when Barca faced financial difficulties. It wouldn’t be surprising if he one day became president of the club.

9. Carles Puyol

A graduate of Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy system, Puyol didn’t just stand out thanks to his iconic rock-and-roll hairstyle – he was also one of the best defenders of all time. Starting as a full-back, Puyol then made a name for himself in the center of defense.

After impressing in the age group teams, he broke into the top starting line-up at the turn of the millennium. At the time, Barcelona were far from the all-conquering force they would become in the late 2000s, when they had a string of poor results in the league.

However, Puyol’s heart never wavered against the Blaugrana, and his loyalty was rewarded when Frank Rijkaard and Guardiola helped turn the club’s fortunes around.

After retiring in 2014, Puyol shared: “I lived the dream of thousands of children and I am very honored. I came here as a child and I left with a family. I want to thank everyone.” also the people at the club who made the club work every day that I was here”.

8. Dani Alves
Dani Alves has played twice for Barcelona. The first time, from 2008 to 2016, when he earned a reputation as one of the best attacking full-backs in the world, following Brazil’s tradition of producing this fine type of player.

Alves pushes so far forward that in matches he essentially acts as an extra winger, allowing whoever plays in front of him, usually Lionel Messi, to wreak more havoc in central areas. . He then returned to the club in January 2022, accepting the lowest possible salary.

7. Samuel Eto’o
Eto’o caused a stir when he declared himself the best African player of all time, refuting Didier Drogba’s claim to the title.

“None of them can come and say they’re at my level or better,” he said back in 2020. “And it’s not me saying that, it’s true, it’s something about there. I wanted to be number 1 and I have been throughout my career.”

In addition to being the continent’s greatest player, Eto’o also established himself as one of Barcelona’s best strikers of all time. His record of 130 goals in just 199 appearances speaks for itself, and Barca certainly missed him when he was pushed towards the exit door to facilitate the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2009.

While Ibrahimovic was in conflict with Guardiola and could not integrate with his new teammates, Eto’o helped Inter achieve a historic treble. There is no doubt that the Nerazzurri’s infamous Champions League semi-final victory over Barcelona was a particular highlight for Eto’o.

6. Luis Suárez
Barcelona were desperate to sign Suarez in 2014 and made him one of the most expensive players of all time when they finally agreed a deal with Liverpool. In typical style, he missed part of his first season at the Camp Nou after being suspended for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup.

When that ban ended, he finally made his debut in the Clasico loss to Real Madrid. But Suarez still made an impact, helping Neymar open the scoring after just 4 minutes. This duo, along with Messi, forms the MSN trio – one of the most powerful attacking trios the world has ever seen.

Watching this trio play at their best was a joy and they were also extremely effective, helping Barcelona complete an excellent treble under Luis Enrique.

There is much more success to come for the devastating Suarez and, like Eto’o before him, he made Barca regretfully parting ways when he won La Liga in his first season at Atletico Madrid.

5. Sergio Busquets
Born in Catalunya, the son of a Barcelona player, Busquets was born to play at Camp Nou. His father, Carles, was just a backup goalkeeper for the Blaugrana. Sergio has achieved more, with only two players making more appearances for the club to date.

Busquets’ position is one of the main tenets of the Cruyffian football that Barcelona likes to play, having been recognized at a very young age.

He is also a supreme protector when in possession, making him perfectly suited to the defensive midfielder role he will take up at Barcelona.

Busquets’ influence hardly waned as he grew older. His game has always relied more on mental speed than physical speed, and Xavi tried his best to stay at the club for another season before his decision to leave was confirmed. received in May 2023.

4. Ronaldinho
No player lit up Camp Nou like Ronaldinho in the 21st century. His first goal at Barcelona epitomized the chaos, beauty and joy that was to come.

Kick-off was five minutes before midnight – a compromise with Sevilla, who had asked for the match to be played on Wednesday, which meant Ronaldinho would miss the match due to the upcoming international break. Barca agreed to the request, but tried to arrange the match time as soon as possible.

However, Ronaldinho’s magic kept the 80,000 people packed inside the famous ancient stadium entertained as he beat two players before unleashing an unstoppable effort that hit the edge of the bar. horizontally bounced into the net.

It was the first of many iconic goals that Ronaldinho would treat coaches to during his time at the club – a period that saw them regain pride and lift a string of trophies.

3. Andres Iniesta
Another La Masia graduate who has done very well, Iniesta is a superb technician. Unable to get the ball at times, the Barca legend divided his time at the club as a midfielder and winger.

There are many iconic moments to choose from in Iniesta’s career, but few are as memorable as his strike in the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea.

The Blues players were furious with referee Tom Henning Ovrebo throughout the second leg after he missed a number of penalties, and Iniesta finally broke their hearts with a stunning strike from edge of the penalty area during extra time.

That goal helped secure one of the two trebles he would enjoy at Camp Nou. Perhaps his crowning moment, however, came in 2015, when he received a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabeu after putting in an impressive performance in El Clasico. .

2. Xavi
Iniesta’s long-time close friend, Xavi devoted 17 years of perfect service to Barcelona from 1998 to 2015. No Barca player has appeared in more European competitions than this midfielder, and It seemed like his record would never be broken.

Xavi has always been a man of great occasions, as evidenced by his outstanding performance in the 2011 Champions League final against Manchester United.

As he had done so many times before, Xavi completely dominated the midfield that night in London, deservedly winning the Man of the Match award, as well as receiving some lofty praise from Sir Alex Ferguson after the match.

This is Xavi at his absolute best, and if it weren’t for some other Barcelona player, he would certainly have won the Ballon d’Or at some point in his career. He is now looking to improve his already legendary status further from a coaching position – and the early signs are promising.

1. Lionel Messi
Messi rewrote what it means to be the best player in the world during his time at Barcelona, ​​going head-to-head with Cristiano Ronaldo to win seven Ballon d’Ors. There isn’t enough space on the internet to list all the records that Messi has eclipsed during his time in Catalunya.

Some of his highlights to date include six European Golden Shoes, seven Golden Balls and a La Liga scoring record.

Without Messi’s indescribable brilliance, Barcelona would not have won half the titles they collected in the 21st century.

His heartbreaking departure from his beloved Blaugrana in 2021 still stings for the cules and the wider football world. If recent reports are to be believed, he could have more time to add to his Barca legacy before hanging up his boots.