Ten stars who have played for both Barcelona and PSG including Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Mikel Arteta
BARCELONA and Paris Saint-Germain have had their pick of some of the most talented footballers to have ever graced Europe’s top divisions.
And a few have had the privilege of leaving their mark on both sides.
Here is a look at ten players who have experienced life at the Parc des Prince and the Nou Camp.
Lionel Messi
The Argentina skipper, 34, is considered by many to be the greatest to have played the game alongside his late compatriot Diego Maradona and Pele.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner spent 21 years at Barcelona winning ten LaLiga titles, seven Spanish Cups and four Champions League crowns before sealing a sensational move to Paris this summer.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The former Sweden international, 40, joined his Inter team-mate, Maxwell, at Barcelona in 2009 in a £59million deal.
And he helped the Nou Camp giants win a Club World Cup in December that year.
The Swede would later have an acrimonious fallout with ex-Barca coach Pep Guardiola following the club's Champions League semis loss to Inter in 2010.
The striker moved to PSG in 2012 after a year at AC Milan where he finished as Serie A’s top scorer in 2011-12.
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Mikel Arteta
The Arsenal boss, 39, began his senior playing career in Barcelona’s B and C teams making 47 appearances between 1999 and 2002.
But after failing to break into Barca’s first team the playmaker headed to PSG in December 2000 in search of more playing time.
And he made his debut for the French giants, then managed by Luis Fernandez, in a Champions League group stage match in the 2000-01 season.
PSG has hoped to retain Arteta at the end of his loan spell and did have an option to buy the midfielder.
However, Glasgow Rangers came in with a higher offer which saw Arteta move to Scotland in 2002.
Richard Dutruel
The retired stopper, 48, who has one cap for France, spent seven seasons at the Parc des Prince between 1991 and 1996 where he won a Cup Winners Cup in 1996.
However, with first-team opportunities limited he would spend two seasons on loan at Caen from 1993 to 1995 before spending four more at Spanish club Celta Vigo, making 128 appearances for them.
This was then followed by a two-year spell at Barcelona from 2000-02.
Frederic Dehu
The former centre-back, 48, joined Louis van Gaal’s Barcelona side in the summer of 1999, playing 23 games across all competitions in the 1999-00 season.
However, the player was let go by the Nou Camp giants after one term and returned to France.
There he joined PSG and won the French Cup in the final season of his four-year career at the club.
Juan Pablo Sorin
The retired Argentina international, 45, embarked on loan spells at the Nou Camp and Parc des Prince.
The midfielder made 15 appearances for Barcelona in 2003 whilst on loan from Brazilian club Cruzeiro and following an injury-ravaged one-year stint at Lazio.
And the player would spend 2003-04 on loan at PSG with whom he won the French Cup during that term.
Ronaldinho
The mercurial Brazilian, 41, who moved to Spain from PSG in 2003, is considered one of the greatest players to have ever played in LaLiga.
The winger wowed fans in the Nou Camp with his trickery and ability to bamboozle his markers.
He helped his side win the Champions League in Paris in 2006 with the club’s famous 2-1 victory against Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side.
Ludovic Giuly
Guily, 45, finished as Barcelona’s second-highest scorer with 11 goals in his first season at the club in 2004-05 despite disruption caused by injuries.
In 2005-06, the former Lyon and Monaco ace won a LaLiga title and Champions League crown with the Catalan giants.
After losing his spot to Lionel Messi the Frenchman moved to Roma for one season before returning to France and joining PSG in July 2008.
Thiago Motta
Motta, 39, joined Barcelona’s B team at 17, before breaking into the club’s first-team in 2001.
And he helped the team reach the semis of the 2002 Champions League contest.
The midfielder would spend the final six years of his 19-year playing career at PSG before retiring in May 2018.
Maxwell
The former left-back enjoyed a three-year spell at the Nou Camp from 2009 to 2012 following a move from Inter Milan.
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He covered for the injured Eric Abidal towards the second half of the 2009-10 season.
The retired Brazil star helped the club win La Liga at the end of that term before moving to PSG on a three-year deal.
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