From extraordinary to ordinary: What happened to Barcelona's brilliant midfield?

Many called it the greatest midfield in history. The trio of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets took Barcelona to new heights under Pep Guardiola between 2008 and 2012. Those days, however, are long gone - and the Blaugrana rely much more on their front three now.

Iniesta and Busquets are still at Camp Nou, of course, but Barcelona's style of play has changed in recent years - even before Xavi left the club to move to Qatar at the end of the 2014-15 season.

With Iniesta sidelined through injury, Busquets below his best and Ivan Rakitic off colour as well, Barca's midfield has appeared ordinary in recent matches, leaving many fans frustrated that their team has lost some of its identity and some of the spectacular style that made them so successful.

In reality, the decline has been gradual. The arrival of Cesc Fabregas in 2011 saw Guardiola make some tactical tweaks in his final season in charge, playing the former Arsenal captain as a false nine in order to fit him in the team along with Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets.

That halted the rise of another La Masia graduate, Thiago Alcantara, and he was ultimately allowed to leave in 2013 because his path to the first team was blocked by Cesc. At that point, it seemed like an embarrassment of riches. But a year later, Fabregas left as well.

That was Luis Enrique's decision. The current Barca boss is keen on a more direct philosophy and Rakitic arrived to make the team more aggressive, with faster transitions and greater athleticism.

It worked well. With Iniesta still sparkling and Xavi an option from the bench when Barca wanted to revert back to their patient passing philosophy in order to keep the ball and frustrate rivals, it was in many ways the best of both worlds.

Barca won the treble that season, with Rakitic and fellow summer signing Luis Suarez fundamental to their success. Xavi, however, had also played his part, while Iniesta was Man of the Match in the Champions League final win over Juventus.