Ranking the 5 best Barcelona players of the Pep Guardiola era

#3 Xavi Hernandez

Xavi played a pivotal part in Barcelona's first-ever treble back in 2009

Xavi Hernandez was part of the club way before Pep Guardiola arrived. Being one of the most skilled La Masia recruits, Xavi went on to have a shining career with Barcelona and the Spanish national team.

During Pep Guardiola's tenure at the Camp Nou, Xavi went on to form a lethal pair with Busquets and Iniesta. They established one of the most dangerous midfield units in the history of the sport.

Along with countless club and national successes, the Spaniard also entered the Ballon d'Or podium on numerous occasions. He played a pivotal part in Barcelona's first-ever treble back in 2009.

Xavi applied the lessons learned from Pep Guardiola during his national outings and helped Spain grab numerous international trophies.

"From the first moment I saw him play, I knew he would become the brains behind Barcelona for many years to come.", Pep Guardiolaont Xavi.

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#2 Andres Iniesta

Iniesta was handy for Pep Guardiola on the attacking front

What separates Iniesta and Xavi's almost similar careers is the former's tad-bit superior attacking minded football. While being at par with Xavi in terms of controlling the game from the center of the park, Iniesta was more handy for Pep Guardiola on the attacking front.

Despite facing injury woes during Pep's first season at Barcelona, Iniesta did not let it taint his performance. His creativity and eagle vision inspired Pep to implement the famous tikitaka with Iniesta as the hub.

During Pep's reign, Iniesta came close to the Ballon d'Or thrice (2010, 2011 and 2012) and ended up on the podium on two occasions (2010 and 2012). Andres Iniesta went onto establish himself as one of the finest midfielders not just in Barcelona but all over the world.

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#1 Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is the best player to have played under Pep Guardiola

Without much of a surprise, Lionel Messi undoubtedly remains the best player to have played under Pep Guardiola and grabs the top spot.

Not much needs to be said about the Guardiola-Messi duo. The fact that the latter's back-to-back four Ballon d'Or trophies between 2009 and 2012 coincide with Pep's stay at the Camp Nou explains it all.

Lionel Messi played a massive role in Pep's Barcelona achieving limitless success. Even though Messi made it into the senior team four years before Pep's arrival, it was under the Catalan boss that the Argentine flourished.

In 2012, which also happens to be Guardiola's last season with Blaugrana, Messi broke several records. Him becoming Barcelona's all-time top scorer is the most notable amongst those. Leo finished the season with 73 goals across all competitions.