#4: Ronaldinho
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While he ended his time at Barcelona under somewhat of a black cloud – sold to AC Milan after Pep Guardiola suspected he had more commitment to partying than he did to training – the impact Ronaldinho made in his early time at the Nou Camp means Luis Enrique would probably love to have him involved today.
Signed in the summer of 2003 when Barca lost out to Real in their pursuit of David Beckham, Ronaldinho made an immediate impact by scoring a tremendous individual goal against Sevilla in September. He scored 15 league goals that season although he only managed to inspire them to second position behind Valencia.
His second season was more successful – his silky skills lead Barca to their first league title since 1998/99, and he also captured the FIFA World Player of the Year, an award he retained the following year too as Barca also retained La Liga.
2005/06 was Ronaldinho’s best season at the Nou Camp – not only did he help Barca to win the Champions League for the first time since 1992, but he also became only the second player (after Diego Maradona) to be cheered by Real Madrid’s fans during an El Clasico, as he scored twice to help Barca win 0-3 at the Bernebeu.
In his prime Ronaldinho was one-of-a-kind, an incredibly skilled player who could both score and create goals. Luis Enrique didn’t play alongside many better than him.
