Ahead of their clash in the UEFA Champions League, we have taken a look at which players have played for both FC Barcelona and Aston Villa.
Two of Europe's most historic clubs, Barcelona and Aston Villa's clash in the UEFA Champions League will be just the fifth time in their history that the two clubs have faced off.
Famously, Villa defeated Barca 3-1 over two legs in 1983 to lift the UEFA Super Cup, with the two clubs also having played out a 2-2 draw and a 2-1 Barcelona win in 1978.
With the two sides set to face off for the first time in over 40 years, let's take a look at which players have played for both clubs.
The most recent player to play for both sides is England winger Marcus Rashford, who had a six-month loan spell at Villa park in the 2024/25 season, before spending the entirety of the 2025/26 season on loan with the Spanish side.
Lucas Digne, who left Aston Villa for PSG this summer having made 182 appearances for the Villans, played for Barcelona between 2016 and 2018, before spending four years at Everton.
Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho joined Barcelona for €135M in 2017, before making a loan move to Villa Park under former teammate Steven Gerrard in January 2022. He made his move to the Villans permanent in that summer, before departing in 2025.
French centre back Clement Lenglet - now at Benfica - made 160 appearances across a four-year career at Barcelona and spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Aston Villa, having been signed as a last-minute replacement for Tyrone Mings, who injured his ACL on the opening game of that season.
Spanish winger Adama Traore had two spells at Barcelona, originally coming through Barcelona's famous La Masia academy, before returning on loan for six months in 2022. Traore left Barcelona for Aston Villa in 2016, with the Spaniard departing Villa Park for Middlesbrough in 2018.
The final name on the list - and the one with the least combined appearances - is Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who featured 30 times for Barca between 2000 and 2002. Miraculously, his Aston Villa appearances came almost 20 years later, playing 12 times in 2019/20.
Players to have played for Barcelona and Aston Villa
Marcus Rashford
Philippe Coutinho
Clement Lenglet
Lucas Digne
Pepe Reina
Adama Traore
