La Liga: Ranking Every Dutchman To Play For Barcelona

The signing of Frenkie de Jong makes him the 20th Dutch player to play for Barcelona. Since 1973, 19 other Dutchmen have called the Camp Nou their home, all with varying levels of success. From the great Johan Cruyff all the way down to his son Jordi, Barcelona have a storied history with Dutch players.Frenkie de Jong won’t step on to the pitch for Barcelona until next season so that gives us penalty of time to look back and reminisce about his previous countrymen to represent the club.Here are all 19 Dutch Barcelona players ranked from worst to best.#19 Ibrahim AfellayMalaga v Barcelona - La LigaIbrahim Afellay joined Barcelona from PSV in January 2010 at the age of 23 years old. Afellay showed great ability and potential at PSV but couldn't replicate that in the La Liga, making just 21 league appearance and scoring one goal. Of this 5 years at the club, two were spent on loan before he was shipped out permanently to Stoke City in 2015.#18 Jordi CruyffLothar Matthaus of Bayern Munich and Jordi Cruyff of BarcelonaThe son of legendary Johan, Jordi Cruyff had a massive shadow to step out of and it's fair to say he failed to do so. After a good start where he scored 9 goals in his first year in the first team, Cruyff fell down the pecking order after the sacking of his father. A move to Manchester United failed to revive his career and stints in Spain, Ukraine and Malta rounded off his rather disappointing career.#17 Ronald de BoerRonald de BoerWhen Ronald de Boer joined Barcelona from Ajax he was one of the world's best goalscoring midfielders but suffered a bad spell of form in Spain. In his season and a half at the club de Boer made 33 league appearances scoring just one goal before leaving for Rangers.#16 Jasper CillessenBarcelona v Sevilla - Spanish Copa del Rey FinalThe only Dutch player currently at Barcelona Jasper Cillessen joined the Catalan side in 2016 from Ajax. Cillessen was bought in as cover for Marc-André ter Stegen and has only made 2 league appearances so far, with the majority of his game time coming in the Copa del Rey. When he has played he has been good, but his lack of minutes hinder him from being higher up this list.#15 Richard WitschgeRichard WitschgeJoining the club from Ajax in 1991, Richard Witschge was used mainly as cover at centre back. Witschge grew frustrated with his lack of playing time and left for Bordeaux in 1993.#14 Winston BogardeWinston BogardeWinston Bogarde joined Barcelona in 1998. He was good when he made it on the pitch but consistent injuries hampered him massively. In his season and a half at the club he made 41 league appearances before being shipped out to Chelsea.#13 Boudewijn ZendenBoudewijn ZendenAfter signing from PSV Boudewijn Zenden enjoyed a successful first two seasons, albeit in an unfamiliar left wingback position, playing a key role in Barcelona’s league triumph in the 1998-99 season. He found minutes hard to come by in this third season though due to a managerial change and was out the door in the summer of 2000 to Chelsea.#12 Ruud HespRuud Hesp of BarcelonaSigned from Roda JC in 1997, Ruud Hesp came in and was given Barca’s number position. Hesp stayed in between the sticks for the next two seasons as the club won back to back La Liga’s. Minutes decreased in his third season as he and Francesc Arnau shared game time and at the end of the season Hesp was sold to Fortuna Sittard where he ended his career.#11 Mark van BommelBarcelona v EspanyolMark van Bommel only sent at year at Barça but enjoyed great success in that short time. He only made 24 league appearances due to rotation, but van Bommel was still able to make a key impact as the club winning the La Liga once, Supercopa de España twice and the Champions League once, starting in the final, during his time there. Van Bommel moved to Bayern Munich that summer.

La Liga: Ranking Every Dutchman To Play For Barcelona

#4 Frank de Boer