Sergio Busquets Burgos (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈserxjo βusˈkets], Catalan: [βusˈkɛts]; born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, as a defensive midfielder.

He was a relatively obscure player when he arrived in FC Barcelona's first team in July 2008, but eventually made a name for himself in a relatively short period of time, reaching the Spanish national team in less than one year after making his professional club debut.

Busquets was born in Sabadell, Barcelona, Catalonia. In 2005, he joined local FC Barcelona's youth ranks, scoring seven goals in 26 matches for the Juvenil A team in his second season. Two years later, he was promoted to the B team under Josep Guardiola, and helped it achieve promotion to the third division. In that same season he would make his first-team debut, coming on as a substitute in a Catalonia Cup match.

On 13 September 2008, Busquets played his first La Liga match, 90 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against Racing de Santander. During Barcelona's UEFA Champions League match against FC Basel at St. Jakob-Park on 22 October 2008, he scored the second goal in the 15th minute in a 5–0 group stage win. In early December, in another start, he scored his second goal with Barça in the competition, netting in the 83rd minute of a 2–3 home loss against FC Shakhtar Donetsk. On 22 December, Busquets signed a contract extension until 2013, with a buy-out clause of €80 million.

Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May 1983), commonly known as Yaya Touré, is an Ivorian footballer who plays primarily as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the Côte d'Ivoire national team. Touré is renowned for combining speed, passing ability, and physical power with technique. A versatile player, he aspired to be a striker during his youth and has played centre back, including for FC Barcelona in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final. He frequently plays as a box-to-box midfielder for club and country and often switches from defensive and offensive positions throughout matches. Touré began his playing career at Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, where he made his debut aged 18.

His performances attracted attention from Europe, playing for clubs in minor European leagues. Touré played for SK Beveren in Belgium, Metalurh Donetsk in Ukraine, Olympiacos in Greece, and AS Monaco in France. In 2007, Touré moved to Barcelona, playing over 100 matches for the club and was part of the historic 2010 Barcelona team which won six trophies in one season. Touré then moved to Premier League club Manchester City in 2010, where he has since scored a number of key goals for the Citizens, most notably in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final and Final. Touré has a distinguished international career with 67 caps for Côte d'Ivoire, representing the team in their first appearance in a FIFA World Cup, in the 2006 competition and in 2010. He is the younger brother of his Côte d'Ivoire and Manchester City teammate Kolo Touré.

Javier "Javi" Martínez Aguinaga (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxaβi marˈtineθ aɣiˈnaɣa]; born 2 September 1988 in Estella-Lizarra, Navarre) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also operate as a central defender.

Martínez also played for the Spanish national team and was a member of the squad that won the 2010 World Cup.

Athletic de Bilbao signed Martínez as a raw 17-year old for €6 million, in the summer of 2006, from fellow La Liga team CA Osasuna, despite him never having played a first team game.

Martínez soon became a regular in the side in his debut season with powerful displays, his highlight being scoring twice against Deportivo de La Coruña, in a 16 December 2006 2–0 away success. He finished the campaign with 35 matches and three goals, and again was everpresent in the following two, helping Athletic to the 2009 Copa del Rey final.

In 2009, he was the midfield engine of the team once more - 46 official matches, nine goals - he scored a career-best six times in the league campaign, as Athletic narrowly missed on another UEFA Europa League qualification.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro,OIH, (born 5 February 1985), commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo became the most expensive footballer in history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth £80 million (€93.9 million/$131.6 million). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is paid €12 million per year, makes him one of the highest-paid footballers in the world, and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract.

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.24 million (€15 million) in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup. He also played at Euro 2004 with Portugal and scored his first international goal in the opening game of the tournament against Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach the final. He was featured in the UEFA Euro All-Star Team of this competition.

Antoine Griezmann (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃.twan ɡʁezmɑ̃]; born 21 March 1991) is a French footballer who currently plays for Spanish club Real Sociedad in La Liga. He plays mainly as a left winger, but can also be utilized as a striker. Griezmann is known for his technical skill, quick acceleration, and dribbling and is a French youth international, having represented his country at under-19, under-20, and under-21 level. In 2010, he was part of the team that won the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship on home soil.

Griezmann was born in the commune of Mâcon in the département of Saône-et-Loire and began his career playing for hometown club UF Mâcon. While there, he embarked on several trials with professional clubs in order to earn a spot in one of their youth academies, but was constantly rejected due to his size and lightweight frame, which clubs questioned.

In 2005, while on trial with Montpellier, Griezmann played in a friendly match against the youth academy of Paris Saint-Germain in Paris, and impressed several clubs, notably Spanish club Real Sociedad, whose scouts were attending the event. Following the match, the club's officials offered Griezmann a one-week trial in San Sebastián, which he accepted. He was later offered a second-week stay at the club. The club then contacted his parents and formally offered the player a youth contract. Griezmann's parents were initially reluctant to have their son move to Spain, but allowed him to make the move after positive reassurances.