16. Carlos Puyol
Where can you start with Carlos Puyol. The Spaniard full-back, similarly to Maldini, was a one-club man, playing his entire career with Barcelona, and captaining them for the final 10 years of his career. Puyol was a matador in defense, a bull that didn’t give you an inch of space until that ball was cleared from danger. He was a general, led by example, and stepped up in the biggest moments. Most importantly, he kept his team respectful at all times, played the game with brutal honesty, and was the ultimate team player. He won notably three Champions League titles and five La Liga titles. A player like Puyol could have been hugely successful in the Premier League because of the physical aspect of his game, but unfortunately we’ll never know.
15. Luis Figo
Luis Figo, now retired at 43 years old, was a Portuguese legend that spent 10 years of his career split between Barcelona Real Madrid, playing Sporting CP for the first six years and finishing off in Internazionale in 2009. Everyone who has the decency of calling themselves a football fan know of the genius and skill of Luis Figo. The Portuguese winger has 106 assists in La Liga, second only to Lionel Messi, and his controversial transfer from Barcelona to Madrid was a transfer record at the time of 37 million Sterling Pounds. Figo was enormous for the Portuguese national side, captaining the team for a few years, becoming their fourth highest goal-scorer in the meantime.
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