South America may be located more than 4,000 miles away from Spain, but their elite athletic talent is being felt in Europe's top soccer league to the fullest extent.

Barcelona currently sits in first place in the La Liga standings with a 22-2-4 record giving them 68 points. With just 10 games left to play, Barcelona has a four point lead over their rival Real Madrid. If Barcelona can hold on their lead down the stretch, they will successfully win the Spanish Premier League Championship for the 23rd time.

By far the biggest reason Barcelona is in first place, and they have won 10 of their last 11 games is thanks to their South American players. Easily the most notable South American players on Barcelona include Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suárez and Claudio Bravo.

Messi doesn't really need much of an introduction. The 27-year-old Argentinean is widely regarded as the best soccer player in the world with his precision passing and leadership. Messi leads the league in both goals (32) and assists (15) this season. He and Cristiano Ronaldo are usually considered the two best players in the world, but the last two months have been one-sided favoring Messi unquestionably.

Creating one of the best tandems in the league, Neymar joins Messi in the attack. Neymar has been one of the best scorers this season with 17 goals. The young Brazilian is one of the best dribblers in the world, and he rarely misses from in close. With Suárez on offense with Messi and Neymar, Barcelona has a perfect balance. Suárez scored his first ever El Clasico goal in Week 28 in a 2-1 win over Real Madrid. A physical player, and a great scorer, Suárez brings an extra edge for Barcelona. Suárez ranks second on the team with nine assist this season thus far.

And of course, we can't forget about Barcelona's goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. The Chilean net minder has been nothing short of brilliant in goal this year leading the league in goals against average, clean sheets and wins. There's a good chance Bravo will take home the Ricardo Zamora Trophy this year, being the first ever Chilean goalkeeper to do so.

In contrast, Real Madrid has relied much more on acquiring European talent to win their games. Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale highlight Real Madrid's offense while Iker Casillas does his best in net. All exceptional European soccer talent, but they just haven't been able to stay afloat with Barcelona's "big four" South American squad.

What makes Barcelona's "big four" so impressive is the fact that all four of those superstars hail from different South American nations. Barcelona has been more efficient than any other team in the league when it comes to obtaining international talent.

Messi, Neymar and Suarez have a combined 57 goals this season between the three of them. To put that into perspective, that is more goals than 18 of the other 19 teams this year.

With 10 games remaining in the 2014-15 La Liga season, it's undeniable how much Barcelona is benefiting from their South American players on the roster. Manager Luis Enrique can sleep comfortably at night knowing he has the No. 1 ranked offense and the No. 1 ranked goalkeeper, all of whom hail from the continent of South America.

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