Picking an Elite Barcelona 5-a-Side Team from Current Squad

Barcelona are, officially, the best team in the world, at least until another side lifts the UEFA Champions League and then the FIFA Club World Cup.

That means they would probably have one of the best five-a-side teams in the world too. It was certainly a tricky task putting it together, leaving out stars such as Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta.

Here are the five who made the cut, with the formation of 1-2-1, as well as the goalkeeper.

Goalkeeper: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen

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The choice of goalkeepers is between Claudio Bravo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, with Jordi Masip left behind eating dust.

Luis Enrique seem to prefer the Chilean, giving him all the league games to play in. Ter Stegen takes part in the cup competitions.

However, there are plenty of arguments that the German has reached a level above Bravo. Certainly, when it comes to five-a-side football, he'd be more useful because his footwork is so good.

It depends on the rules, but if goalkeepers were allowed out of their areas, he'd be the perfect pick because he could also operate as a sweeper.

Defender: Javier Mascherano

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Gerard Pique is arguably the best defender in the world, let alone just at Barcelona, but Javier Mascherano would be more useful on the five-a-side pitch.

Pique is so good in the air, but that's not usually particularly important in a five-a-side game.

His ability on the ball would be important too, but Mascherano is a better fit. His relentless energy is perfect for this type of game, and he would also be the captain of this team.

Thomas Vermaelen, Jeremy Mathieu and Marc Bartra were the other options, while full-backs Jordi Alba, Aleix Vidal and Dani Alves aren't what's needed in this situation.

Midfielder: Ivan Rakitic

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A key player in five-a-side is the midfielder who can fulfill defensive duties as well as bounding up the pitch to augment attacks.

Ivan Rakitic could almost play his usual Barcelona role, with the Croatian one of the hardest-working players on the team.

Sergio Busquets was the other choice for this position, and it was a marginal call, but the energy Rakitic has is a bit more vital in five-a-side then Busquets' passing range.

Sergi Roberto, Rafinha and Arda Turan would all be fantastic players in a short-form version of the game but not quite as effective as Rakitic.

Midfielder: Lionel Messi

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While he's usually deployed as a wide forward with licence to roam for Barcelona, Lionel Messi could play in any position on the pitch.

He's the sort of player who is usually forced to go in goal in these sort of games after scoring five goals and being head and shoulders above any other player on the pitch. He'd still end up dominating the game from there.

In our team, he would play as a midfielder, more attacking than Rakitic and with permission to shoot on sight. But he would be able to come back and pick the ball up deep to thread forward to our striker.

Striker: Neymar

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Neymar or Luis Suarez? A big question. If it were an 11-a-side game, you would have to go for Suarez based on this season's form.

But in five-a-side football, Neymar's ability to beat his man would translate into goals galore for the Brazilian.

In a full game, if he beats one man, he still has two or three more hounding him down. Sometimes he beats them and scores, sometimes he doesn't and sometimes he passes it.

However, in this game, if he beats his defender, then he'd have a clear shot on goal. With Rakitic steaming up alongside and Messi floating wherever he could find space, opponents wouldn't be able to spare an extra man as back-up for shackling Neymar.

With one trick he'd be past the defender and free to have an effort or pass to an open partner.

Suarez is fantastic at creating space by distracting defenders with runs and battling for position physically, but those attributes aren't as useful in a game in which crossing isn't one of the major attacking strategies.