#8 Andres Iniesta
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“I’d like to see Iniesta, Messi and Luis Enrique together next year. That would mean that Barca would continue being in very good health,” these were the thoughts of Catalan legend Xavi, who formed a borderline telepathic relationship with Iniesta in his time at the Nou Camp.
When tiki-taka was at its pomp, Lionel Messi may have been the exceptional end-product, but it was Andres Iniesta, blessed with godly vision and clinical passing accuracy, who was pulling the strings in midfield.
The 32-year-old is always involved, whether it be through splitting a defence with an incisive pass, offloading a short ball to a nearby teammate to start an attack or picking up the ball close to goal ready to polish off a fluid move. Nobody on this list has won more than the Spaniard – eight La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions Leagues and four Copa del Reys with his boyhood Barcelona, as well as two European Championships and a World Cup with Spain. Phew.
Given how he practically redefined how the game is played, at his peak, Iniesta could’ve not played a minute in 2016 and still fallen into the top ten of this list, based purely on his core success and ability.
That said, the midfielder still had a relatively solid year, creating 9 chances and maintaining an average pass completion of 91% at Euro 2016. His campaign with Barcelona has been dealt a slight blow by casualties, but he has still made three assists and created eleven chances so far.
