LIONEL MESSI may be Barcelona’s highest ever goalscorer and a one club man to boot, but he has missed out in one fan poll naming the club’s greatest player of all-time.
In a ballot from fan poll site Ranker, the Argentine managed to only come second best with a famous compatriot winning out.
Messi came only second in a fans’ poll on Barcelona’s top playersCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Diego Maradona edged Messi when supporters were asked to rank the LaLiga giants’ best and brightest.
Several big names were forced to settle on a place outside of the top ten, from 1940s and 50s legend Cesar Rodriguez to Rivaldo and Neymar.
Current stars Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique squeezed into the top ten behind recent heroes Ronaldo, Carles Puyol and Xavi.
The top five is hard to dispute even if the order can be debated.
Andres Iniesta, the most decorated Spanish footballer of all time with 35 trophies to his name, was fifth behind Johan Cruyff.
The Dutch maestro is arguably remembered for his time as coach at the Camp Nou as much as for his mighty playing record, with two Ballons d’Or arriving while a midfield focal point for the Blaugrana and four LaLiga titles won from the dugout.
FANS’ ALL-TIME TOP 20 BARCELONA PLAYERS
1. Diego Maradona
2. Lionel Messi
3. Ronaldinho
4. Johan Cruyff
5. Andres Iniesta
6. Xavi
7. Carles Puyol
8. Ronaldo
9. Gerard Pique
10. Luis Suarez
11. Neymar
12. Dani Alves
13. Sergio Busquets
14. Samuel Eto’o
15. Rivaldo
16. David Villa
17. Ronald Koeman
18. Romario
19. Hristo Stoichkov
20. Victor Valdes
It is perhaps a surprise to see Cruyff come in behind Ronaldinho, who dazzled with his sensational skills during five years in Catalunya but won only two league titles and a Champions League.
Edging out Barcelona’s record scorer and second-highest appearance maker, Messi, at the time of writing is Maradona.
The club forked over a world record transfer fee to secure the forward from Boca Juniors.
But injuries meant Maradona left two years later with just a Copa del Rey to his name, before going on to become a global superstar with Napoli and Argentina, winning the 1986 World Cup in the process – a trophy Messi is yet to claim.
Messi’s old Argentina boss Maradona beat him in this pollCredit: AFP – Getty
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
