The rivalry between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona has heated up in the last 10 years or so. From officials to fans to players, the two teams seem to dislike each other. However, what is interesting is that both sides have shared many top world-class stars over the years.
PSG and Barcelona have been meeting again in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League this season. The second leg will be a difficult contest for Les Parisiens, but the defending Ligue 1 champions will have a basis to show confidence. Kylian Mbappe is in great form and in the blink of an eye, he can change the outcome of a match.
While Mbappe will likely join Barcelona’s rivals Real Madrid next season, plenty of world-class players have played for both teams. Below are a few of the classiest names.
Lionel Messi
We have to start with the best player in the world 2023. Lionel Messi joined PSG in 2021 in a surprise move when Barcelona simply could not afford to pay him anymore. Messi did not want to go to Paris and then fans discovered that the superstar was really miserable. But in two seasons, Messi scored 32 goals and had 35 assists in all competitions. He won Ligue 1 twice but could not bring PSG to glory in the Champions League.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has opened an era of sports investment in a bold Qatar. Ibrahimovic joined PSG in 2012 from AC Milan, but earlier in his career he played for Barcelona. While this player’s time in Catalonia was very short, the Swedish international still scored 22 goals in 46 appearances for Barca. At PSG, his ability to score top goals continued. In 180 appearances, Ibrahimovic has scored 156 goals, many of which make fans still ecstatic to recall.
Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho is arguably one of the best dribblers in football history, and he burst onto the European scene with PSG in 2001. The Brazilian legend only needed two seasons in the French capital before when Barcelona noticed and paid a transfer fee of 32.25 million euros to bring him to Camp Nou.
Neymar
After PSG’s historic 1-6 loss to Barcelona in 2017, PSG targeted Neymar. The Brazilian was part of the Barcelona squad that knocked out Les Parisiens in the Champions League, but was then looking to escape Messi’s shadow and win trophies himself. PSG paid a record amount of 222 million euros to break Neymar’s contract and bring him to the French capital.
The Brazil international scored 118 goals during his time in Paris, but injuries have limited his ability to feature in the biggest matches. PSG finally parted ways with their record signing in 2023.
