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La Liga has been and continues to be home to some of the best technicians in the history of 'the beautiful game'. The Spanish top-flight, buoyed by the legacies of Real Madrid and Barcelona, has offered us premium quality football throughout its existence.
The Spanish national side dominated the international football realm for a fair while in the 21st century. They won the Euros in 2008 and 2012 and the World Cup in 2010. Those sides were filled with players from La Liga.
La Liga teams have been dominant in Europe in recent times
La Liga teams have won five out of the last 10 editions of the Champions League. The Spanish top-flight is without doubt one of the most competitive football leagues in the world. But it wouldn't be so without the players who have made football an absolute treat to watch.
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Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who have had the most impact in La Liga.
#5 Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid)
Alfredo Di Stefano single-handedly caused the rift between Real Madrid and Barcelona to widen. Stefano was the subject of a transfer saga in the 50s that saw Los Blancos and the Blaugrana go head to head in a bitter battle to secure his services.
Armando Muñoz Calero, former president of the Spanish Football Federation, was appointed as the mediator after a solution couldn't be found. The final decision was to let Di Stefano play for Real Madrid in the 1953-54 and 1955-56 seasons. He would play the 1954-1955 and 1956–1957 seasons for Barcelona.
Miffed by the way the saga panned out, Barcelona sold their half-share to Real Madrid and the player signed a four-year contract with them. Di Stefano went on to tear it up for Real Madrid and he led from the front as Los Blancos dominated La Liga.
He won eight La Liga titles and five European Cups with Real Madrid. He scored 216 goals from 282 games in La Liga. Di Stefano netted 49 times in 58 matches in the European Cup as well. He was also awarded the Ballon d'Or for the European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959.
He is one of the greatest footballers of all time and is one of football's first global superstars.
#4 Ronaldinho (Barcelona)
The Brazilian magician Ronaldinho played a big role in boosting La Liga's popularity. Following his heroics at the 2002 World Cup, Ronaldinho had become a global icon. With Florentino Perez's Galactico project at Real Madrid in full swing, Barcelona needed an upgrade to keep up with the competition.
Laporta phoned Manchester United-bound Ronaldinho and hijacked the deal. A couple of months later, he was tearing it up for the Blaugrana in La Liga. It's difficult to find another footballer who was as entertaining to watch with the ball at his feet. Ronaldinho traversed the pitch with the grace of a gazelle.
He mesmerized the footballing world with his tricks, flicks, backheels, flip flaps (aka elasticos), trivelas, rabonas, overhead kicks, freekicks... You name it. Not only was he exciting to watch, he was just as effective.
He stayed at Barcelona for five seasons and won two La Liga titles and one Champions League. He won the Ballon d'Or during his time at Barcelona in 2004. He was also chosen as the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
In addition to that, he also has the rare distinction of being one of the very few Barcelona players to have received a standing ovation at the Santiago Bernabeu.
#3 Xavi (Barcelona)
Barcelona midfield maestro Xavi is one of the greatest footballers of all time. It's hard to find a player who is so technically proficient and tactically intelligent at the same time.
Xavi's passing range was second to none and it was nearly impossible to shake him off the ball. He could navigate tight spaces with the ball glued to his feet and send an entire raft of defenders the wrong way with a drop of his shoulder.
A one-club player all his life, Xavi made 767 appearances for Barcelona. He set the record for most appearances for a single club but Lionel Messi has broken it since.
In the 17 years he spent at the Camp Nou, Xavi won eight La Liga titles, three Copa Del Reys, and four Champions League trophies.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Arguably the greatest Galactico signing of Florentino Perez, Cristiano Ronaldo propelled Real Madrid to the status of serial Champions League winners. The Portuguese legend was so influential that he made the extraordinary seem normal over the course of the nine years he spent at Real Madrid.
It was an absolute treat to watch Ronaldo and Messi, two of the greatest footballers of all time, go neck to neck while representing arch-rivals. While Messi's Barcelona got the better of Real Madrid more often than not in La Liga, the Blancos dominated the Champions League.
Ronaldo won the Champions League four times with Real Madrid. He was also the top scorer in the competition in all four of those editions. Ronaldo scored a whopping 450 goals and provided 132 assists in 438 matches. He won four Ballon d'Or awards during his time with Real Madrid.
He won two La Liga titles, four Champions League titles, two Copa Del Reys and two Supercopa de Espanas, three FIFA Club World Cups and two UEFA Super Cups with Real Madrid.
#1 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Barcelona are in a bad place. They have now announced that Lionel Messi is going to leave the club. The Argentine has spent 17 years at the club and is inarguably the greatest footballer to have played for the Catalans.
Messi has won the Ballon d'Or a record six times in his career. He has been their most important player over the past decade and a half. Messi has been a driving force behind Barcelona's growth in popularity on a global scale and the club won't be the same without him.
Detailing his individual accolades is a near impossible task. Messi has won 10 La Liga titles, four Champions League titles, seven Copa Del Reys and seven Supercopa de Espanas. He has also won three FIFA Club World Cups and three UEFA Super Cups with Barcelona.
Messi is the most prolific goalscorer that La Liga has ever seen and has won the La Liga Golden Boot (Pichichi Trophy) a whopping eight times. He holds the record for most goals scored in a calendar year with 91 in 2012. 79 of those goals came for Barcelona.
No player has ever been able to match Messi's heroics at Barcelona. He is undoubtedly the player who has had the most impact in La Liga.
