Top 10 Barcelona players of all time - #3

Xavi

© Offside

Appearances: 767 Goals: 85 Trophies: 8x La Liga, 3x Copa del Rey, 6x Supercopa de Espana, 4x Champions League, 2x UEFA Super Cup, 2x FIFA Club World Cup

It speaks volumes for the quality of this list that a player like Xavi - Barcelona's all-time leading appearance maker - only comes in at number three.

A diminutive figure in the middle of the park, Xavi nonetheless exerted a giant influence over matches and few in the history of football have controlled games more effectively than him.

The triumvirate of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi provided the heart of a team many believe to be the greatest in football history, but Xavi was there before either of the others having made his first-team debut in 1998.

Twenty-four years and 767 first-team matches after initially joining the club as an 11-year-old, Xavi left in 2015 having established himself as one of the greatest midfielders of the modern era.

Silverware unsurprisingly followed, and Xavi ended his time at Camp Nou with a bursting trophy cabinet which includes eight La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns.