Barcelona power rankings: Gavi explodes, Memphis crashes
Robin Bairner
- 9 Apr 2022 22:34 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona have rediscovered their old qualities in recent weeks under Xavi, climbing La Liga to put themselves in a strong position to qualify for the Champions League next season
Their revival has been constructed around a new breed of player from La Masia, including Gavi and Nico Gonzalez, but has been supplemented by a sprinkling of January signings who have brought valuable experience, quality and cutting edge to the squad.
Using in-game data to calculate the performance of ever Barcelona player, FootballTransfers looks at who is the most improved player in their ranks.
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The most improved Barcelona players
Unsurprisingly, Gavi is statistically the most improved Barcelona player since the start of the season. The 17-year-old arrived in the first team at the start of the campaign and was one of the few sparks of hope during the closing weeks of Ronald Koeman’s reign. He was so good, he rapidly was drafted up for international duty.
Gavi leads an impressive crop of Barcelona youngsters who have improved dramatically this season, out ahead of Nico Gonzalez in second. Ez Abde comes third, despite having played a lower key role for Barcelona in what has been a breakthrough campaign for the 20-year-old winger, who arrived from Hercules in August.
But these are not the only players to have made significant jumps. Eric Garcia, Ronald Araujo, Ferran Torres and Pedri have all seen very big improvements in their performance lately, too.
Even the likes of Gerard Pique and Marc-Andre ter Stegen have made big improvements in the last six months, yet their efforts pale into compared to the club’s best young talent.
The Barcelona players who have declined the most
Such has been the improvement that Barcelona have made in their play this season, there have been few players who have declined statistically.
Those players who have declined, have done so rather steeply. The player to have dipped the most is Memphis Depay, who was a key player last season with Lyon but has seen his level decline dramatically since making his dream move to Camp Nou.
The other players to have dipped in level, meanwhile, are Clement Lenglet and Luuk de Jong.
Barcelona Power Rankings over the past six months
| Name | SciSkill Improvement/Decline |
|---|---|
| Gave | +36.5 |
| Nico Gonzalez | +19.6 |
| Ez Abde | +15.3 |
| Eric Garcia | +12.1 |
| Ronald Araujo | +12 |
| Ferran Torres | +10.5 |
| Pedri | +10.3 |
| Gerard Pique | +9.7 |
| Marc-Andre ter Stegen | +9.3 |
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | +6.9 |
| Sergino Dest | +5.7 |
| Dani Alves | +5.7 |
| Frenkie de Jong | +5.6 |
| Sergio Busquets | +5.6 |
| Jordi Alba | +5.1 |
| Oscar Mingueza | +5.0 |
| Ousmane Dembele | +4.1 |
| Adama Traore | +3.6 |
| Ansu Fati | +2.3 |
| Riqui Puig | +2.2 |
| Samuel Umtiti | 0 |
| Neto | 0 |
| Martin Braithwaite | 0 |
| Moussa Wague | 0 |
| Sergi Roberto | 0 |
| Luuk de Jong | -4.4 |
| Clement Lenglet | -5.1 |
| Memphis Depay | -5.5 |
