5 foreign players who deserved to retire at Barcelona

#3 Laszlo Kubala

Kubala entering the pitch (Photo courtesy: FC Barcelona)

A refugee of the World War in 1949, Laszlo Kubala had a troubled past before joining Barcelona in 1950. The Budapest-born forward became one of the hottest properties in European football as soon as his talent was recognized. Real Madrid came really close to landing his signature before Barcelona swooped in at the last minute to sway him away.

Kubala would go on to spend 11 years with the Blaugrana, making 208 appearances along the way. His brilliance was so popular in the football fraternity that fans used to flock to Les Corta in huge numbers just to watch the Hungarian play. To accommodate the large audience, Barcelona were forced to upgrade their stadium, birthing the modern-day Camp Nou as a result.

Kubala briefly retired as a player in 1961 to pursue a career in management. However, the enigmatic forward returned to the pitch soon after. In honor of the legendary Hungarian, Barcelona installed a statue outside Camp Nou in 2009, solidifying his legacy forever.

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#2 Johan Cruyff

Cruyff at the Laureus World Sports Awards

The man who completely revolutionized football with his unconventional ideas, Johan Cruyff will always be remembered for introducing the concept of 'Total Football'. Without his ideology, the world would've never witnessed the rise of geniuses like Pep Guardiola, whose tactics are heavily inspired by Cruyff's methods.

The Dutchman joined Barcelona in 1973 for a then world record fee of €1 million. His addition immediately transformed the Blaugrana into an adequate superclub, inspiring them to their first La Liga title in 14 years. Cruyff spent a total of five seasons with Barcelona, winning two Ballon d'Ors in that duration.

He left the club in 1978, following it up with brief spells with US-based Diplomats, Ajax and Feyenoord. The revolutionary Dutchman retired in 1984, making fans wonder if he could've done so at Barcelona. Cruyff would return to the club in 1988 as a manager, embarking on a legendary stint in the Blaugrana dugout.

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#1 Lionel Messi

Messi had to leave his childhood club forcibly

The man, the legend, the myth. Lionel Messi is undoubtedly the best player to have ever donned a Barcelona jersey. A product of the fabled La Masia, the generational talent was a Barcelona player through and through before his unfortunate departure earlier this year.

Messi had confirmed on numerous occasions that it was his childhood dream to finish his career at Barcelona. Having spent 16 years with the senior squad, La Pulga finally broke his silence on the reckless mismanagement of the club last year, publicizing his desire to leave.

Despite being forced to stay at Barcelona, Messi gave it his everything, single-handedly keeping the club competitive and winning them the Copa del Rey. As fate would have it, the legendary Argentine was unceremoniously ousted from the club due to Barcelona's dwindling finances this summer.

Following a tearful farewell, Lionel Messi departed his boyhood club, a place that he should've retired at, just to keep the romantic aspect of the game alive.

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