Best Barça players of the last 25 years
2025 is coming to an end, and with it, the first quarter of the 21st century. So, it seems like a good time to take stock and look back at some of the great players who have worn the Barça shirt from 2000 to 2025… through their shirt numbers.
We want fans to vote for which players would make up the best squad of this first quarter-century - from number 1 to 25. Voting starts this Tuesday, 23 December 23, with the first eight numbers and will end on 2 January when we will find out the 25 most voted for players.
100 players, 25 numbers
So, how does this work? First, you should know that a total of 100 footballers (who played for Barça between 1 January, 2000, and 31 December, 2025) will participate, divided across 25 shirt numbers. That means four players will compete for each of the 25 numbers.
For example, for number 5, the contenders will be Abelardo (wore ‘5’ from 1998 to 2002), Carles Puyol (2002–14), Sergio Busquets (2014–23), and Iñigo Martínez (2023–25). Only one of them will make it into the final best squad; a tough decision indeed.
Where is Pau Cubarsí, Barça’s current number ‘5’ some might say, but the man defender wore ‘2’ last season, and the criteria for assigning players is based on the number they wore for the longest period. In Cubarsí’s case, that’s ‘2’ (a full season) ahead of ‘5’ (half a season so far). Leo Messi, for example, will only compete for number ‘10’.
No player can appear under two different numbers. That is why Sergio Busquets competes for ‘5’, he wore it for nine years, and will not be in the vote for ‘16’, which he wore for five years. All current first-team players are included in the vote, regardless of how long they’ve been at Barça.
All jersey numbers now available
All votes can now be made using the official FC Barcelona app. Fans from around the world can choose from the selected best 100 players wearing numbers 1 to 25. Voting for the players will remain open until 2 January when the 25 winners will be announced. Your vote counts!