Midfielders
Central midfielder: Thiago Alcantara
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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.
