Barcelona have been the most successful football club in the world in the past decade, brushing aside teams in the both the La Liga and the Champions League, to establish the sort of continental dominance that is rarely seen in football these days.
A large part of this success can be attributed to phenomenally talented players such as Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Carlos Puyol, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and many, many more who have played a significant part in establishing the Blaugrana as a powerhouse in world football after the so-called ‘dry spell’ of the early 2000’s.
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Also read: All-time Barcelona XI
The money and the fame that accompanies a player who dons the shirt of the Catalans has lured many great players to the club. While those such as Luis Suarez and Neymar have gone on to become integral members of the team, quite a few, who could easily walk into the first XI’s of any other team in the world, have seen themselves wither away on the bench through no fault of their own.
Here, we present to you a Barcelona rejects XI in a 4-2-3-1 formation, consisting of some incredible players who simply did not make the cut:
Goalkeeper: Pepe Reina
Pepe Reina’s father, Miguel Reina, played for Barcelona in goal in the 60’s and Pepe, in turn, joined the first team from the academy, making 49 appearances before being offloaded to Villarreal.
With Reina between the sticks, the Yellow Submarine qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history. Reina then became regarded as one of Europe’s best keepers and won the FA Cup, the Coppa Italia and the Bundesliga at Liverpool, Napoli and Bayern Munich respectively. He also won the Golden Glove in each of his first 3 seasons with Liverpool in the Premier League.
Now back in Naples, the Spaniard has more than 250 career clean sheets as well as a World Cup and 2 European Championship winners’ medals to boast of.
Defenders
Left-back: Maxwell
Full-back Maxwell has been an unheralded player for the vast majority of his career, shunning the spotlight and being largely ignored by the Brazilian national team. More popularly known for his close friendship with Zlatan Ibrahimovic – whom he’s played with at Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain – Maxwell played for Barcelona between 2009 and 2012 making a total of 57 appearances.
An excellent crosser of the ball, Maxwell initially got his opportunity with Barca after an injury to Eric Abidal. Even though he did manage to win 2 league titles, 2 Super Cups, a Champions League, and 2 FIFA Club World Cups with the club, he was mostly used as a backup or in more advanced positions on the wing rather than his preferred role in defence.
Having left for Paris in January 2012, he made over 30 appearances in each of his 4 full seasons with the club and won 13 domestic trophies, becoming a key member of the team that dominated the French domestic scene.
Right-back: Hector Bellerin
A player who is only just beginning to realise his tremendous potential, Bellerin joined Arsenal for a paltry sum of €425,000 in 2011; only a week before Fabregas made the controversial move back to the Catalan giants.
He made his breakthrough into the Gunners’ first team when a piling injury list forced Arsene Wenger to start him against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
After initial struggles, the 21-year-old has rapidly matured into one of the best full-backs in the Premier League. Using his incredible pace and dribbling ability in both attack and defence, the Spaniard helped Arsenal win the FA Cup in his first season with the squad.
Repeatedly linked with a move back to the Blaugrana, one can imagine that they are regretting letting him go so easily and cheaply back then.
Center-back: Thomas Vermaelen
Vermaelen has always been a center-back on the cusp of greatness, but marred by consistent injury problems, the Belgian hasn’t managed to reach his true potential.
Coming through the famed Ajax academy, he won the Eredivisie with the Dutch giants in 2003-04 in his first season with the team. He won a further 4 domestic trophies and became club captain before eventually moving to Arsenal. In North-London, he put in some stellar performances in the centre of defence and was included in the PFA Premier League Team of the year in 2009.
Niggling injuries saw him regularly sit out games and though he made 150 appearances for the Gunners and was appointed club captain, he followed the footsteps of many before him to join Barcelona in 2014. He made only 1 appearance in the club’s treble-winning season and a further 20 in the next before eventually leaving for Roma.
While he had the potential to become a starter at one of the biggest clubs in Europe, he failed to usurp any of Barca’s centre-backs and establish himself in the team.
Center-back: Laurent Blanc
Arguably one of the greatest centre-backs to have ever played the game, Laurent Blanc played for the Blaugrana between 1996 and 1997 winning a Copa Del Rey, Supercopa de Espana and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in the process. However, his time with the club was a less than happy one.
The legendary Frenchman, who was a ‘sweeper’ by nature, had a professional playing career spanning clubs such as Napoli, Saint-Etienne, Marseille, Inter Milan and Manchester United. He stayed with the Catalans for just a solitary season, making 28 appearances and scoring 1 goal, joining at the behest of Johan Cruyff, who was unfortunately sacked the day Blanc joined the club.
After leaving the Spanish giants, he enjoyed fair amounts of success with Marseille and Inter Milan – winning the World Cup and European Championships during his stints with the clubs – before winning the Premier League with United and finally retiring from football at the end of his time with the club.
Midfielders
Central midfielder: Thiago Alcantara
Arguably one of the most talented midfielders on the planet on current form, the Spaniard had a contract at Barcelona with a €90 million buyout; but the clause dropped to just €18 million after the Catalans failed to play him in a set number of games.
This saw him follow Pep Guardiola to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2013 and his departure has been arguably a huge loss for Barca, especially after Xavi left the club following their Champions League triumph in 2015.
His precise and clever passing set the tempo for the Bavarians as they won the league in each of his first 3 seasons at the club and at just 25 years old, he’s sure to be at the top of world football for many years to come.
Central midfielder: Thiago Motta
Italian midfielder Thiago Motta was born in Brazil and was snapped up by Barcelona’s talent scouts aged just 17. He made more than 100 appearances for the first team, but persistent injuries with both Barcelona and later Atletico Madrid saw him end up at Serie A side, Genoa
Motta, however, proved his quality in Italy. He ended up moving to Inter Milan where he won the treble, before moving to Paris Saint-Germain in 2012. He has won four consecutive league titles with the Parisiens and has been a mainstay of the side that has won 13 domestic trophies in the past 4 years while also performing reasonably well in the Champions League.
Attacking midfielder: Cesc Fabregas
Leaving Barcelona not once, but twice, assist-machine Cesc Fabregas departed for the first time aged just 16, to join Arsenal. At the Gunners, he became the youngest player and goalscorer in the club’s history after an injury to Patrick Viera gave him a good run in the first team.
He returned to Barca in 2011 but failed to establish himself in the midfield ahead of the likes of Xavi, Iniesta or Busquets. Instead, he found himself shoehorned into a more advanced attacking position. He managed to win the league with the Blaugrana before Luis Enrique let him leave again, this time for Chelsea, where he picked up a Premier League title and a League Cup in his first season with the Blues.
Having recently passed the 100 assist barrier in the Premier League, he has a career assist tally of over 150 for club and country.
Left-wing: Mauro Icardi
Argentinian forward, Mauro Icardi was born in the same city as Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria - Rosario. Like them, he made his way to Spain, joining the famed La Masia academy aged just 15.
A classic forward, Icardi felt he didn’t quite suit Barcelona’s style of play and went out on loan to Sampdoria, before joining the Italians permanently at 18. A €12 million move to Inter Milan followed in the summer of 2013 and Icardi has already scored 61 goals for the Nerazzurri in just over 100 games for the club.
Even though he was appointed as the club captain recently, a big move cannot be far off with both Chelsea and Manchester United reportedly interested in the talented youngster.
Right-wing: Bojan Krkic
Born in Catalonia, the one-time ‘golden boy’ of La Masia reportedly scored 900 goals in the 8 years he spent playing for the Barcelona youth side. He made his first-team bow at the age of just 17 and scored a month later; breaking Messi’s record as the youngest player and the youngest ever scorer in Barcelona’s league history.
Unfortunately, he never turned into a world-beater and after failed loan spells at Roma, Milan and Ajax – where he won the league – he joined Stoke City for just €1.8 million in 2014.
Despite an ACL injury, Bojan has excelled in England and has committed his future to Stoke City until 2020.
Attackers
Striker: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
5 trophies in a year is quite some record, but it wasn’t enough to keep the big Swede at Barcelona. Zlatan cost Pep Guardiola €46 million and Samuel Eto’o in 2009, but he stayed just one season at the Camp Nou despite hitting 22 goals and registering 13 assists in 46 games.
Ibrahimovic is still the only Barcelona player to have scored in each of his first five league games for the club. However, a poor relationship with Guardiola saw him exit the club, with the forward claiming that Pep stopped speaking to him in February.
He was shipped out to Milan, where he scored 56 goals in 85 games over the next 2 years, winning the Serie A and a Supercoppa Italiana. He then moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2012, where his phenomenal scoring form saw him become their all-time top-scorer; banging in 113 goals in just 122 appearances.
After a trophy-laden 4 years in the French capital, the striker is now lighting up the Premier League, still going strong at the age of 35.
