5 best passers at Barcelona right now

#3 Eric Garcia

FC Barcelona v Levante UD - LaLiga Santander

A La Masia graduate, Eric Garcia returned to Barcelona this summer after spending four seasons at Manchester City. His first few months at his boyhood club have been difficult as Garcia has struggled to adapt to the pace of the game and has looked out of depth.

However, he’s growing into the team slowly and new head coach Xavi also trusts the 20-year-old. One of the most important reasons behind that is because of what he adds with the ball at his feet.

Garcia is a supremely talented passer and ball-progressor and he is key to the Barcelona build-up. He has the highest pass completion rate in the team of anyone who has played over 300 minutes this season (93.5%).

The 20-year-old’s passes have also been line-breaking and incisive. This is reflected by the fact that 76 of his passes have entered the final third of the pitch and he has also completed 67 progressive passes. His numbers are among the best in the team in both those categories.

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#2 Frenkie de Jong

FC Barcelona v RCD Espanyol - La Liga Santander

Frenkie de Jong is among the best box-to-box midfielders in the world. Although he has often blown hot and cold, especially with Barcelona, at his best he is almost unstoppable. De Jong has been instrumental in Barcelona’s build-up play, especially under Xavi and is starting to show signs of better consistency.

The Dutch midfielder is a secure passer of the ball and a passing accuracy of 91.3% just goes to show that. His passes have also covered a lot of progressive distance (2705 yards) and he’s also a gifted athlete who can carry the ball at his feet a large distance.

As far as passes that reach the final third are concerned, De Jong has the third best numbers in the team. His 73 passes are just behind Eric Garcia’s tally of 76. The 24-year-old also makes plenty of progressive passes and this season he has managed 62 so far.

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#1 Sergio Busquets

FC Barcelona v Granada CF - La Liga Santander

Despite entering the final stages of his career, Sergio Busquets’ prominence only continues to grow with Barcelona and the Spanish national team. The arrival of Xavi as manager has bolstered his importance and Busquets now has a proper structure around him that allows him to progress further with the ball and make incisive passes.

Following Messi’s departure, there’s no doubt that the Barcelona captain is now the best passer in the team. His passing accuracy of 86.7% is often skewed by the high volume of passes he has played (927) but it’s the zones where he has been passing that makes him so important to Barcelona.

116 of Busquets’ passes have entered the final third of the pitch and he has also completed 98 progressive passes. Busquets also covered a progressive distance of 4847 yards with his passing. The 33-year-old is crucial to maintaining Barcelona’s rhythm and acts as a midfield lynchpin.