Nine players who have played for Barcelona and Liverpool

Luis Suarez of Liverpool shows his daughter his golden boot award
Luis Suarez of Liverpool shows his daughter his golden boot award / IMAGO

Barcelona and Liverpool are undoubtedly two of the best clubs in Europe and share a rich history. However, only nine players had the chance to represent the two clubs. Luis SuarezPhilippe Coutinho and Thiago Alcântara are the names associated with the two clubs in our recent memory but we will look at the others who have played for both La Liga and Premier League giants.

Javier Mascherano

The Argentine midfielder, also a defender, is known for his warriorship qualities on the field. Mascarenho might have etched his own legacy at the Nou Camp but priorly he enjoyed an impressive stint at Anfield between 2007 and 2010.

Pepe Reina

We all know how good Pepe Reina was, currently serving as the first-choice goalkeeper for Lazio, during his time at Liverpool and he is a Reds legend in his own right. However, the Spaniard had a not-so-memorable spell at Barca between 2000 and 2002.

Bolo Zenden

The former Dutch player was part of the Barcelona side that won the La Liga title under Louis Van Gaal in the 1998-1999 season. He later plied his trade at Anfield for two seasons, winning the FA Cup and played a big role for the team to reach the 2006-07 Champions League final.

Mauricio Pellegrino

Like Zenden, Pellegrino was also part of Barca’s La Liga winning team in the 1998-99 season. Pellegrino became the first-ever Argentine to represent the Reds when he was signed in 2005. He recently managed Southampton and is currently in charge of Argentine club Velez Sarsfield.

Luis Garcia

An academy graduate of Barcelona, Luis Garcia struggled to establish himself at the first team before moving to Liverpool in 2004. He won quite a number of trophies with the Merseyside club including the FA Cup in 2006 and the memorable Champions League a season prior.

Jari Litmanen

The greatest player ever to represent Finland, Jari Litmanen was a huge success at Ajax in the 90s. He later went on to represent Barcelona and Liverpool but failed to exceed the expectation at either club.

Thiago Alcantara

Thiago moved to Anfield in the summer of 2020 after enjoying a prolific spell at Bayern Munich. Prior to Bayern, the Spanish midfielder was an exciting talent at Barcelona and deemed as the next big player to make a big stride from La Masia to the first team. However, the competition was unreal and overwhelming at that time, as he had to leave the Nou Camp in the end.

Luis Suarez

Suarez announced himself as one of the world’s top strikers to watch out for during his time at Liverpool. However, his stature grew further at Barcelona and he found his name in the club’s history books in no time. Together with Neymar and Lionel Messi, Suarez formed one of the fearsome partnerships in the history of football and led the Catalan club to a treble in 2015. The Uruguayan, perhaps, had a disappointing end to his Barca spell after he was forced to leave by manager Ronald Koeman last year. 

Philippe Coutinho

Barcelona broke the banks for Coutinho’s signing in 2018 after the Brazilian established himself as one of the best attacking midfielders. However, the 29-year-old’s career derailed at the Nou Camp, as he failed to exceed the expectations due to the lack of form and injuries.