Power Ranking Every Barcelona Player from 2015/16 Liga Season
Barcelona ended 2015-16 by retaining both La Liga and the Copa del Rey, continuing their domestic dominance under Luis Enrique.
Despite a poor run in April, the Catalan outfit finished the season strongly and were worthy winners of the league title, with several of their star names shining over the season as a whole and the strength of the squad being tested more than once thanks to injuries.
Here, we look at the entire Barcelona playing squad and rank them according to their performances throughout the league season, analysing who was the best overall and which team members perhaps have work to do next year.
Unused and Unranked
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Five players will remain unranked from the squad, two of whom failed to get onto the pitch in league play despite being named on the bench at least once and three who made insignificant contributions to the league campaign.
Third-choice goalkeeper Jordi Masip and young winger Juan Camara are the two who did not play a single minute.
Douglas, the oft-lamented Brazilian right-back, played just 12 minutes all season in La Liga, while midfielders Sergi Samper and Gerard Gumbau managed only 30 and 42 minutes of game time, respectively.
22. Sandro Ramirez
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On to the ranked players, 20-year-old forward Sandro Ramirez can see this season as nothing other than a missed opportunity.
He featured heavily in rotation while Lionel Messi was out injured but failed to impress and didn't score in 10 games. Sandro didn't get on the pitch in La Liga after Christmas and ended the season injured.
The likelihood is that this was his big chance, one he failed to take.
21. Adriano
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Versatile defender Adriano played a bit-part role, only featuring eight times in league play—with half of those appearances as substitute.
Contract extension or not, he barely crossed the 1,000 minute-mark across all competitions this season and contributed little to the campaign, and it would be no surprise to see him offloaded in summer.
20. Marc Bartra
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One of the most disappointing players of the season perhaps, centre-back Marc Bartra ended last term on a real high but failed to impact at all this year and was fifth-choice in his position.
Bartra was mainly used as a sub in La Liga to see out games or to rest Gerard Pique, and he should look to depart the Camp Nou as soon as possible.
Not that it seems to bother Vicente del Bosque, of course.
19. Rafinha
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The suspicion remains that there is a phenomenal player in Rafinha, but we still haven't quite seen it yet—this time because of injury.
He was set to play an important squad role before an ACL injury wrecked his season, with the attacking midfielder only returning in April to make a handful of appearances. A strong workload in the summer is required to ensure he is at peak fitness to impact next term.
18. Aleix Vidal
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We rank Aleix Vidal above Rafinha, but it's more for time on the pitch than anything else.
The right-back initially had a good start after signing on to play from January, but he quickly faded, lost his place and got injured.
It wasn't a debut campaign to remember on a personal level after Vidal had to spend the first five months watching from the sidelines.
17. Thomas Vermaelen
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Overall, it has to go down as another disappointing year for Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen, but he started the campaign extremely well and gave hope that he could challenge for places.
Vermaelen played in the opening three games, scored a vital winner in one and generally looked back to something like his composed and aggressive best—but, inevitably, injury soon struck.
The same pattern was repeated midway through the season, and although Vermaelen has looked impressive for runs of two or three games at time, he has never yet managed to play four league games in a row for Barca across his two seasons.
16. Jeremy Mathieu
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Jeremy Mathieu ranks above Vermaelen, but again it's more to do with time on the pitch than hugely impressive performances.
The Frenchman had the odd big game and was most frequently called upon by Luis Enrique when one of his first-choice defenders were absent, but inconsistent performances, errors in his game and a lack of pace have cost him far too many times.
His substitute appearance at Villarreal was horrendous and sparked Barca's downward slide, ultimately arrested just in time to still win the title.
15. Arda Turan
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Arda Turan promised much but ultimately didn't quite deliver in his first (half-) season at Barcelona.
Available only from January after the registration ban was lifted, the Turkish attacker filled a variety of roles in the final third but certainly didn't do enough to make any one position his own.
He scored a couple and claimed a few assists, but that almost comes as standard in this team, and a big summer is ahead where Turan will really need to shine if he is to become a first-XI player for Barca.
14. Munir
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Munir was by no means a standout, but he filled the gap along with Sandro when Messi was injured and actually found some modicum of end product as the season went on.
In La Liga, he scored three and looked far better when playing either centrally or from the left, but even when he was a noticeable drop down from the usual front three, Munir managed to work spaces well and get important touches inside the box to make chances for others.
Like Sandro, he perhaps didn't make the absolute most of his time in the team, but he at least gave reason to hope there is further improvement ahead.
13. Dani Alves
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Dani Alves had a very mixed campaign, at times being peripheral and showing poor form, with other games seeing him the main avenue into attack.
Early in the year it seemed as though he had lost his spot at right-back, but a combination of his own upturn in performances and a spate of midfield injuries meant further chances were presented to him.
Alves continues to be a key part of the side, even if he's not as lethal in the final third with his crosses and quick link play.
12. Marc-Andre ter Stegen
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Barcelona's second-choice league goalkeeper had two runs in the team in La Liga, one at the beginning and one at the end of the campaign.
Two clean sheets in the final fixtures ensured Barcelona won the title, and he also performed minor heroics in his earlier stint between the sticks when the defence was nowhere near as steady as it should have been.
He only had 500 minutes of action, so we can't justify him being in the first 11, but there's no doubt Ter Stegen more than played his part.
11. Jordi Alba
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Considering how integral his runs are to opening up opposition defences, Jordi Alba was unusually quiet over the course of the entire season.
He still made his surging breaks forward and clocked up eight assists thanks to his speed and no-look cut-backs, but he didn't really show his best individual level often enough when overlapping Neymar.
Defensively, it's all about recovery pace with Alba; he does a decent job when he's around, and if teams counter-attack behind him, there isn't too much he can do.
10. Javier Mascherano
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Javier Mascherano played a huge part in his club's title defence, though he did suffer an erratic spell of form midway through the year.
The Argentinian is always industrious, diligent about his work and plays simply from the back—one of Luis Enrique's trusted lieutenants on the pitch and someone who will always put his body on the line for the team.
A couple of suspensions scattered through the season and the odd defensive error might come as standard for the defensive midfielder-turned-centre-back, but overall, he remains extremely important for Barcelona.
9. Sergi Roberto
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One of the early-season standouts for the club, Sergi Roberto excelled at right-back and then in midfield as he helped more than most to ease the team through the injury crisis.
Filling no less than six roles over the course of the season, Roberto gradually won the faith of the manager and fans thanks to his energy, surprising turn of pace and ability to link play in the final third.
He put in several eye-catching displays in midfield to give real hope that he could challenge the likes of Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic on a regular basis, though his drop-off in form toward the end of the season accounts for finishing ninth.
8. Claudio Bravo
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First-choice goalkeeper Claudio Bravo made a handful of errors in the early part of the season and took time to find his very best form, but he was a steady presence overall, and in two or three games, he was the difference between a win and a draw.
The Chilean showed his usual good reflexes, handling and ability on the ball, though he was certainly a level below the league's top goalkeepers for the season as a whole.
7. Gerard Pique
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Barcelona's best centre-back for the campaign, Gerard Pique had a noticeable drop-off in form at the turn of the year, but he started and finished the season as one of the best in Spain, not just at his club.
Powerful, confident and imposing with his physical frame, Pique is difficult to beat either on the ground or in the air.
He has pace, can surge forward to cover distance quickly and always backs himself to make an impact in the attacking penalty box.
6. Andres Iniesta
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Some of the football produced by Andres Iniesta this season was nothing short of spellbinding, with the captain able to turn on the magic and dribble past four or five players at a time when the mood took him.
Withdrawn and conscientious about his defensive work at times, he didn't always have to produce fantastic individual play in the final third, but he remains entirely capable of it even so.
The 32-year-old was a very worthy captain to lift the title.
5. Sergio Busquets
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Sergio Busquets did as he always does: patrolled the midfield, won back possession with regularity, held position in front of the defence and covered in behind when required.
His passing between the lines remains a mysteriously underrated trait of his, yet everybody knows that he's a must-shut-down figure to stop Barca playing at their best.
Simply put, he's a key that helps the team unlock every defence around, even when he doesn't make the final-third passes himself.
4. Ivan Rakitic
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Just about heading the Barcelona midfield list is Croatian Ivan Rakitic, an outstanding performer in both halves of the pitch for the majority of the season.
His runs from deep disappeared in the early stages of the campaign, while an injury also hampered him for a while, but late in the year, he was the catalyst to reignite the title bid with his untracked surges into the area and capability of scoring important goals.
Excellent in possession and a true work horse, Rakitic was one of La Liga's best.
3. Lionel Messi
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At times Lionel Messi remained mesmeric to watch, winning games by himself with his ingenuity on the ball, dribbles past players and searching passes on the diagonal.
Even so, and even with another enviable goal haul, the Argentinian forward certainly wasn't quite at his peak all season long, no doubt due to an irritating injury suffered in the first half of the season.
Messi ended with 26 goals, the second-highest in the team for league play.
2. Neymar
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Neymar's form fell off a cliff between February and April, but in the first half of the year, he was perhaps the world's best player and was simply Barcelona's most critical star as he ensured Messi wasn't missed.
Twenty-four goals and 18 assists in La Liga only tell half the story, with Neymar's movement, skill and speed of thought the envy of many who tried to stop him.
It was always unlikely he could sustain such a high level for the entire season, but even so, it was a campaign to remember for the Brazilian, and he managed to finish strongly.
1. Luis Suarez
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Top of the charts for goals scored in La Liga and top of the rankings for Barcelona's best player was Luis Suarez.
The Uruguayan forward scored a thoroughly ridiculous 40 goals in 35 games, firing his side to the title with his enigmatic brand of aggressive forward play, deadly finishing and non-stop movement.
Suarez scored all types of goals because he's an utterly rounded player, capable of linking play, scoring solo or simply being the end result of a team move.
The former Liverpool man had a tremendous season, and he has to be in the running for the Ballon d'Or if he maintains this form into 2016-17.
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