Leo Messi heads a Barcelona contingent to the top five world players of the year category with Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez. The others are Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. It is heavily Eurocentric. No player from outside the European leagues has ever won the award.

By Barca's high standards this year's CL performance has been shocking. A bare four points and tied with Dynamo Kyiv and Rubin Kazan at the half way mark in the group stage is not what Pep Guardiola and Xavi had in mind.

Xavi sounded a bit defensive, when he said that all the talk of an end of a cycle was nonsense and that the defeat against Rubin Kazan was unexpected.

Pep Guardiola downplays the defeat and says "it is hardly a clarion call."

Guardiola insisted his team played "well" and that Barça "had done everything to win", but stressed the accuracy of the Russians, a "home run in the opening minutes" and a counterattack, eventually gave victory to Rubin.