Ranked! The 50 greatest Barcelona players of all time

40. Johan Neeskens

Dutch master Johan Neeskens is one of his country's favourite sons. He may have only won two cups in his five years in Spain – but he's a firm favourite with Barca fans, too. Johan Cruyff's right-hand man, Neeskens was always available wherever he needed to be with his positional sense and versatility hugely valuable to Barca. It's just a shame he wasn't there for the glory years.

39. Paulino Alcantara

Born in the Philippines, Paulino Alcantara is the youngest player to either play or score for the Catalan outfit. With 369 goals in 357 matches – a record that stood for almost a century, it's fair to call him the Messi of his day: every youngster through La Masia has had to match up to his excellence. 

38. Hristo Stoichkov

He may have spent two months on the sideline during his first season for stamping on a ref's foot, but Hristo Stoichkov more than made up for lost time. The Bulgarian became the jewel of the Dream Team, helping Barca to four LaLiga titles and being the most fearsome forward in the first European Cup triumph. In 1994, he won the Ballon d'Or and World Cup Golden Boot. 

37. Victor Valdes

The brick wall at the heart of Pep Guardiola's first (and arguably greatest) team. Victor Valdes may not have achieved quite what he should have at international level – owing to Iker Casillas keeping goal for Spain – but Valdes was supreme for Barca, playing nearly 400 times, winning six titles and three Champions Leagues. 

36. Migueli

Migueli – nicknamed Tarzan – played for Barcelona for almost two decades: there at the start of Johan Cruyff joining the club as a player and retiring when his former teammate took charge of the side. He would bully strikers and was a favourite with Cules, playing for the side almost 550 times. 

35. Patrick Kluivert

It was Louis van Gaal, Kluivert's old Ajax coach, who brought his fellow Dutchman to Barcelona. The striker hit the ground running with 16 goals in his first season as Barca retained LaLiga and managed almost a strike every other game by the time he left for Newcastle, hitting 124 in 249. 

34. Ivan Rakitic

While Luka Modric is the more celebrated of the two Croatian midfield geniuses, Ivan Rakitic is one of the simply one of the best in his position of his era. Stepping into Xavi's shoes, Rakitic was the cool antithesis to Andres Iniesta's passionate runs from midfield, always measuring passes with precision and knowing exactly where he needed to be. Four titles, four Copa Del Reys and a Champions League title is some haul. 

33. Sandor Kocsis

Sandor Kocsis may have achieved more in his native Hungary with Honved but his arrival at Barcelona in 1958 was the introduction of a superstar. He scored on his debut, won back-to-back LaLiga titles during Real Madrid's Hollywood era and was desperately unlucky not to win the European Cup in 1961. After retiring, Kocsis opened a restaurant in the city. 

32. Thierry Henry

Lionel Messi said he dared not look Thierry Henry in the eye, knowing what the Frenchman had achieved in his career already. Barcelona helped Henry complete the set – the Champions League was the only major title that had eluded him at club or international level – and in a left-wing berth, he was reborn as one of a deadly front three with Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi. Barca never saw the best of Henry: but even what they did see was excellent. 

31. Josep Escola

A striker so technically proficient that he was known as 'The Professor', Josep Escola was Barca through and through. Escola managed an astounding 236 goals in 310 games in Barca colours in two spells and later coached youth teams. Three league titles and three Catalan Championships have his name all over them.