FC Barcelona is a name that comes up every time the term Spanish football is mentioned, the Catalonia-based club is one of the biggest if not the biggest club in the world. Over the years, the club has been host to one of the most renowned players in the world. Barca boasts a total of 26 La Liga titles, second to only their arch-rivals, Real Madrid. In this article, we look at the 5 popular Barça players who have never won the La Liga title with the club.
#5 Lilian Thuram
The French defender arrived at the club in the 2006/07 season, he joined Barca in the latter stage of his career after playing at the highest level in Europe, with notable stints in Serie A with both Parma and the Italian giants, Juventus.
He was a great leader of the generation of French footballers, he won the 1998 World cup and the Euro 2000. Thuram was physically strong, combined with his excellent ball-playing skills, which made him one of the best. Not only on the pitch, but his attitude off the pitch has been remarkable as well.
#4 Gary Lineker
Regarded as one of the greatest English strikers of all time, Gary Lineker joined the club in 1986. The striker enjoyed a successful 3-year spell in which he won the Copa del Rey and European Cup Winners Cup. He touched the 50-goal mark for Barça in less than 150 games, Lineker’s most famous outing for the club will be the match against Real Madrid at Camp Nou in October 1986, where he bagged a hat trick in the El Clásico.
Gary enjoyed a marvellous career, but will go down as one of the most popular players who have never won the league with FC Barcelona.
#3 Gianluca Zambrotta
Zambrotta opted to move to Barça in the summer of 2006, the same year in which Thuram moved to Barça as well. Debatably the best full back of all time, in the two seasons he wore the Blaugrana colors, Zambrotta became a regular starter for them.
The player was one of the best Italian players at the time, who won the 2006 World Cup with them, Gianluca was known for his remarkable strength and fearless tackles. In this first season with Barca, he was capped 29 times, in which he scored three goals. After two years in Barcelona and winning the Spanish Super cup, Zambrotta returned to Italy as he joined AC Milan.
#2 Ronaldo Nazario
After switching to FC Barcelona for the 1996-97 season, Ronaldo Nazario bagged 34 goals in just 37 games. Showing how capable he was, Nazario became a world-class player in no time, he swiftly established himself as a key player. He helped the club win the Club Winners’ Cup, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish super cup.
At only 20 years of age, Nazario was destined for greatness at Barça and was set to become a future legend of the club but an unfortunate series of events involving the board of directors and his agent, led to him leaving for Inter Milan after playing only 51 games for the club.
#1 Diego Maradona
One of the greatest of all time played two seasons for Barca, on 4th June 1982 Diego put pen to paper on a contract with the La Liga giants. The best player in the world at the time was finally a Blaugrana, the club’s pursuit of the Argentinian had begun several years ago, they wanted to land him at the Camp Nou and make him the marquee player of the club.
His successful stint at the club was enjoyed by the fans and the club as he was directly involved in 51 goals in just 47 games, Diego truly showed he was the best. But things off the field were not as good as they were on the field due to illness and injuries, Maradona left for Napoli. Making him the most popular out of the 5 most popular Barça players who have never won a la Liga title with the club
