#7 Xavi – Barcelona (1998-2015)
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A product of La Masia, Xavi made his debut in 1998. Xavi finished his debut season with 2 goals in his 26 appearances and was named the 1999 La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year. Subsequently, he took the role of Barcelona’s principal playmaker following Pep Guardiola’s injury in the 1999-2000 season.
He kept getting better with age bagging numerous assists and occasionally finding the back of the net. Following consistent performances, Xavi was named as the vice-captain of Barcelona in the 2004-05 season.
No Barcelona fan can forget the 6-2 victory against rivals Real Madrid in the 2008-09, where Xavi was the star of the match making four assists. He also led Barcelona to Champions League success, making 7 assists in the process. He also made most assists (20) in La Liga that season.
Having been a part of Barcelona’s successful years where he won 28 titles, his personal achievements makes him more special. He was awarded the IFFHS World’s best playmaker award for four consecutive years from 2008 to 2011. He finished third in the Ballon dOr race in 2010 and 2011, losing to Lionel Messi on both occasions.
He finally left Barcelona in 2015 and told in an interview that he’d like to come back to Barcelona in the future for a managerial role.
