FC Barcelona have regularly attracted, and produced through their own La Masia academy, some of the best footballers in world football.
The Camp Nou is one of the most intimidating and iconic stadiums around – just ask Paris Saint-Germain after they came a cropper there in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League, and Barca players love to flaunt their brilliance on its hallowed football turf.
Some great international players have pulled on the famous Blaugrana shirt in the past, but which of them stand out, and why?
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#5 Hristo Stoichkov
A winner of 14 major honours with Barcelona, Hristo Stoichkov is held in the highest regard as a veritable club legend. Arriving from CSKA Sofia in 1990, Stoichkov settled in quickly, claiming a La Liga title before getting his hands on a European Cup, European Super Cup and so much more.
Alongside the likes of Brazilian star Romario and Denmark’s Michael Laudrup, Stoichkov became an integral part of Johan Cruyff’s ‘Dream Team’ as they dominated Spanish football.
For Bulgaria, he scored almost 40 goals in 84 appearances and although he didn’t win a title with them, he did prove instrumental to their best-ever finish at a major finals.
Bulgaria completed a marvellous fourth-place triumph at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, having reached the semi-final stage, and Stoichkov finished joint-top scorer that year with six goals to cap a memorable individual display.
#4 Ronaldinho
The superlatives often run dry whenever Ronaldinho Gaucho crops up in conversation – his legacy is often too good to celebrate with words.
A legend for both Barcelona and Brazil, he is often recalled by football fans of them both, and neutrals alike, as being the most entertaining and naturally gifted of footballers.
With Barcelona, he scored almost 100 goals - most of which were spectacularly magnificent efforts.
Overall, he fell just shy of the centurion cap milestone, but managed to score 33 goals for the Selecao. He also helped his national team win the 2002 World Cup, memorably scoring one of the standout goals of the tournament when he lobbed England goalkeeper David Seaman from a long-distance free kick which had spectators everywhere aghast in disbelief – it was the perfect way to announce himself to the world.
A samba superstar, his tricks, rhythmic style and ability to nearly always play with a smile on his face meant that he was adored by pretty much everyone who saw him play - even Seaman probably couldn't help but smile watching him from time to time.
#3 Xavi Hernandez
One of the best passers the beautiful game has ever seen, Xavi Hernandez is Barcelona through and through.
When he called time on his Barca career back in 2015, it was obvious that the club would find it difficult trying to get a replacement for him – they still have not managed it.
Not only was he an excellent distributor and guarder of possession, but Xavi was also a leader, a captain, an inspiration and an embodiment of what it meant to be a Barca player.
He gave everything and more to his performances and won everything there was to win for them – Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, Club World Cup and more.
For Spain, he was equally loved by the fans.
A two-time winner of the UEFA European Championship, he also claimed the biggest prize in football in 2010 – the World Cup. Ultimately, he was the metronomic influence that gave both Spain and Barcelona their steadying influence, lending them balance, poise and intelligence in the middle of the park.
#2 Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona will always be considered one of the greatest footballers the game has ever been lucky to see grace its bright green pitches.
There is almost something mythical about the man – lookin at his club record, he didn't actually win as many titles as many of the other greats. Eight titles between both stints at Barcelona (where he won three crowns – Copa del Rey, Copa de La Liga and Supercopa de Espana) and Napoli is not as big a haul as one might expect from such a giant of the game, but Maradona was always so much more than trophies.
He was a player whose dynamic dribbles, individual golazos and mind-bending skill always seemed so much more important than silverware. At Barcelona, he played some amazing football, something epitomised by the amazing goal he netted in the El Clasico against Real Madrid when he received a standing ovation from the rival fans – becoming the first Barca player to be bestowed such an honour.
But it was on the international plateau where he really shone - winning the 1986 World Cup, essentially dragging his team to victory singe-handedly by scoring two amazing goals against England en route to the big showdown versus West Germany.
An icon, a tornado of brilliance, Maradona was football at its purest and most bizarre.
#1 Johan Cruyff
The late, great Johan Cruyff was not just a footballer – he was a philosopher, an architect.
He was so good at his peak, he had moves named after him (the ‘Cruyff Turn’), he influenced the footballing culture at one of the biggest clubs in the world, Barcelona, and not only revolutionised the way they played but also the way they produced new, rising stars as it was he who paved the way for their famed La Masia academy.
With the club, he helped them win, both as a player and manager, five La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys, a European Cup, Super Cup and so much more besides.
To talk about Cruyff is to talk about someone whose impact on the Barca team extends even right up to this day – he laid the foundations, it could be argued, for their success, even now, and has always been an integral part of the club’s modus operandi.
For the Netherlands, too, he had an astonishing impact – namely helping them to a runners-up spot at the 1974 World Cup as well as finishing third in the 1976 European Championship.
