5 players who left Barcelona after clashing with the club

Barcelona have been represented by some of the finest players in the world over the years. The Catalan giants have had no problem in terms of attracting top superstars, with the Camp Nou still serving as home to some spectacular talents at the moment.

Meanwhile, one thing that is questionable is how the Blaugrana treat their players. For instance, the departure of Lionel Messi during the summer was a big slap to the face, owing to the way it was handled. But there have been even worse cases at the club in recent years.

Several top superstars have been forced to leave Barcelona over the last few years after clashing with the club. On that note, here's a look at five of them:

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#5 Miralem Pjanic

The midfielder barely got a chance under Ronald Koeman at Barcelona.

Miralem Pjanic finally completed his dream of becoming a Barcelona player when he switched to the Camp Nou from Juventus in the summer of 2020. However, the midfielder couldn't make anything out of the move, thanks to the recently sacked Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman standing in his way.

Pjanic barely got a chance to prove himself under Koeman, and it was glaring that the pair didn't get along during their time at Camp Nou. Pjanic was eventually kicked out of the club by the tactician in the recently concluded transfer window.

Shortly after joining Besiktas on a loan deal this summer, the midfielder didn't hesitate to lash out at the former Blaugrana coach, saying:

"It was a very difficult situation to accept, but I wasn’t going to fight. There was a person who was never going to change. He’s the coach. There was a lack of respect for the club, for those who didn’t play after training well."

"It was one of the worst things I’ve seen, a huge lack of respect, and it wasn’t easy for those of us not playing. Now I’ve found a solution to play and I’m happy".

#4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Ibrahimovic and Guardiola had a tense relationship at Barcelona, forcing the striker to leave.

The striker looked set to take Europe by storm when he got his Barcelona career off to a great start after arriving in the 2009-10 campaign. Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagged 21 goals and 13 assists for the club in his debut season, but couldn't continue beyond that due to a clash with Pep Guardiola.

The Swede later explained how things broke down between the pair, leading to his eventual departure. He said:

"In Barcelona, the first season but the second half of the season was a challenge for me because I came into a situation where the coach wasn’t speaking to me, and that was something new for me. I'm not the person who - if I don't have a problem - I will approach you. It's about the person who has the problem, he should approach the other one, and we resolve it like men."

#3 Dani Alves

The Brazilian accused Barcelona's board of disrespect.

Dani Alves remains one of the greatest players in Barcelona history. The Brazilian spent eight remarkable years at Camp Nou, making 391 appearances, bagging 21 goals and 101 assists across competitions. He also helped the club claim several honours. That includes three Champions League titles, four La Liga titles and six Copa del Rey trophies among others.

However, the defender left the club in an unceremonious manner in 2016 after a clash with the Barcelona board. Alves later accused the Blaugrana hierarchy of disrespect during an interview shortly after his departure. He said:

"I like being loved and if they do not want me, I'm leaving. During my last three seasons I always heard that Alves was leaving. but the management never said anything to me. They were very false and ungrateful. They did not respect me. They only offered me a renewal because of the FIFA transfer ban.

"That's when I played their game and signed a renewal, which included a clause that allowed me to leave for free a year later. The people who run Barcelona have no idea how to treat their players."

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#2 Samuel Eto'o

The Cameroonian left Barcelona at the end of the 2008-09 campaign.

Like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Samuel Eto'o left Barcelona due to a strained relationship with Pep Guardiola. The Cameroonian was highly influential under the tactician as Barca claimed a historic sextuple in the 2008-09 campaign. But Eto'o only spent a year together with Guardiola before he was offloaded to Inter Milan at the end of the season.

Reflecting on what happened between the pair, Samuel Eto said:

"I first of all reminded Guardiola that he'd never been a great player. He was a good player, that's true. I told him. As a coach, he had proven nothing. He came in and didn't even know the story of the dressing room."

The striker continued:

"I told him that Eto'o was the one who made him win and that he would come and ask for forgiveness. He never had the courage to say things to my face."

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#1 Luis Suarez

Luis Suarez learned of his Barcelona future in a 40-second phone call.

Luis Suarez was offloaded by Ronald Koeman in the summer of 2020 on the ground that he was too old to perform at the top. As the Uruguayan later revealed, the tactician informed him he had no future at Barcelona, in a phone call that lasted merely 40 seconds.

Suarez joined Atletico Madrid after parting ways with the Blaugrana. He managed to prove Koeman wrong by leading the Rojiblancos to claim the Liga title last season, contributing 21 goals and three assists.

After scoring against Koeman's Barcelona last month, the striker taunted the Dutchman by celebrating with a phone call gesture. Nevertheless, the Uruguayan remains a Blaugrana legend, courtesy of his tally of 195 goals and 113 assists in 283 appearances across six seasons.

Suarez later said:

“I’m happy to feel valued here. People thought it was easy to play at Barcelona and score 20 goals. No, it’s not easy. It is nice to show there’s merit in what I did, that I can play in the elite, and not just because I was at Barcelona with the world’s best player alongside me.”