5 players who are lucky to be playing for Barcelona

Mes que un club.

FC Barcelona is one of the biggest clubs in world football. Indeed, true to their motto, the institution represents more than a club to 5 million Catalonians. In these troubled times, the beauty and success at display on Camp Nou provide a welcome relief from the chaos that prevails outside the pitch.

24 League titles, 29 domestic cups, 5 CL titles – chances are you have never pulled on their traditional Blue and Red unless you are quite special. Johan Cruyff, Ronald Koeman, Pep Guardiola, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Lionel Messi – a number of the players who have featured for the Blaugrana would comfortably find themselves in a compilation of the best the planet has ever had to offer.

Yet as they say in Manchester, for every Paul Scholes who wins a PL medal, a Bebe wins one too.

Considering their financial might and historical pull of the club, there are very few players in the world who would turn down FC Barcelona; which makes it all the more astonishing that certain players who clearly fall short of that standard find themselves ensconced in Barca comforts.

Here are 5 players who are lucky to be playing for FC Barcelona:

#5 Andre Gomes

Andre Gomes has struggled to live up to the expectations at Camp Nou

Dubbed a “poor man’s Pogba” by certain sections of the media, Gomes’ performances for Valencia and Portugal caught the eye of many a club before Barcelona came calling. The talent was there for all to see, the fee was normal at most in a crazily inflated transfer market.

At 22, Gomes had the potential to be the future of FC Barcelona midfield.

However, as he would soon find out, filling in for midfield maestros in the mould of Xavi, Iniesta, and Rakitic would prove to be beyond him. He hasn’t been a bad player, but he has not set Camp Nou alight either.

For a club that has traditionally looked to win matches in the centre of the park, Gomes has proved a disappointment. In all due fairness, though, it would be a tough mantle to take up for most midfielders in the world.

#4 Paco Alcacer

Paco Alcacer has been good enough - but not great enough

Yet another addition in the category, “good enough but not great”, Alcacer was never going to compete with Messi, Neymar or Suarez for a place in the starting 11 in all reality.

The disappointment, however, lies in his failure to prove a solid option from the bench in the previous season, when Real Madrid’s squad players played a major role in keeping their first 11 fresh through the season.

Madrid’s backup striker, Alvaro Morata, scored 20 goals in 43 appearances while Alcacer scored 13 goals in 39 appearances for Barcelona. Not a measly return, perhaps. However, the margins for average performances are slim in the highest echelons of world football. With the additions of Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, Barcelona have demonstrated their ambitions for the future – and Paco Alcacer looks increasingly unlikely to play a significant role in it.

#3 Gerard Deulofeu

Barcelona have tried to fit Gerard into the picture - but it is time to move on

Fair play to them, Barcelona refused to give up on Gerard Deulofeu.

Time and again.

Once a precocious prodigy at La Masia, great things were expected of the young lad. When Everton signed him on loan as a 19-year-old, it was considered a remarkable coup for the Toffees. He went on to have a decent season for the Blues, prompting Barca to promote him to their first team squad. Little did he know his career was about to take a downward spiral.

His career followed a disappointing loan spell at Sevilla, a return to Everton and another disappointing loan spell at Milan – yet, Barca activated their buy-back clause for Deulofeu in June 2017.

Their efforts at fulfilling his promise have been admirable – but maybe, it is time for all concerned parties to admit that Gerard’s future lies away from the Camp Nou.

#2 Lucas Digne

Lucas Digne has not given Jordi Alba much to worry about

In recent years, Barcelona have struggled to find competent backups for their undisputed first team players. Players like Thiago, Alexis Sanchez, Pedro and even defenders like Martin Montoya have left the club to find more game time. Finding replacements who could realistically challenge for a first 11 spot has proved difficult for the Spanish giants.

Lucas Digne is yet another failure at such an attempt; this time, the attempt to keep Jordi Alba on his toes. The Spaniard has held down his first-team spot with relative ease, and Digne has been wasting away his formative years holed up on the bench.

He is indeed very lucky to still be playing for Barcelona.

#1 Thomas Vermaelen

Thomas Vermaelen hasn't had his luck with injuries - but he has had ample luck elsewhere

This man truly trumps the remainder of this list!

Admittedly, things are looking on the up for Thomas Vermaelen right now. He has played every match for the La Liga leaders since 26th November, and has proven solid and held his ground during this period.

But to be in FC Barcelona in the first place, he has been incredibly lucky.

Vermaelen had always struggled with injury during his time at Arsenal, but 2013-14 season brought the added challenge of finding himself out of the club’s first choice centre-back partnership. Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny formed an able pair, and Vermalaen could no longer hold a guaranteed first 11 spot, even as the club captain at the time.

There are many clubs who would love to sign a 3rd choice Arsenal centre-back looking to move on for game time, but no one would have added FC Barcelona to that list. After 2 injury-ravaged years at the Camp Nou, Vermaelen was loaned to Roma – where he played just 607 minutes, plagued by injury yet again.

Ernesto Valverde chose to retain the club's long-standing faith in Vermalaen in the current season when a deal for Inigo Martinez failed to materialize.

He hasn’t had much luck with his fitness – but he would certainly have nothing to complain about the path his career has taken, despite that.