3 Barcelona superstars who share a perfect link-up with Lionel Messi on the pitch

FC Barcelona superstars - Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez
FC Barcelona superstars - Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez

Lionel Messi is such an extraordinary player that establishing a perfect relationship with him on the pitch is enough for any player to succeed at Barcelona, just as Paulinho Bezerra showed us following his move from the Chinese side, Guangzhou Evergrande last season.

The Argentine has been the heartbeat of FC Barcelona ever since he came to limelight over a decade ago and has played with a lot of incredible teammates who formed a perfect link around him during their time together, with the likes of Xavier Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Dani Alves, and Neymar Jr. being notable examples of these fantastic superstars.

While the aforementioned players have all departed the Nou Camp, it is quite interesting to see the Argentine superstar still sharing an incredible telepathic relationship with a number of players who are present in the Catalan capital at the moment.

Therefore, we highlight 3 superstars who have a decent linkup with the Argentine maestro in the Barcelona camp right now:


#3 Sergio Busquets

Busquets and Messi have shared a good connection on the pitch for a very long time
Busquets and Messi have shared a good connection on the pitch for a very long time

Former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola recently revealed that Lionel Messi was in awe of Sergio Busquets when he first saw the midfielder train with the senior team in 2008 and the Spaniard even went forward to include that the 5-time Ballon d'Or winner actually confessed to him that he liked the player's style.

Ever since that year, the two fantastic superstars have been lining up together at the Nou Camp and they have maintained a perfect relationship on the pitch for over a decade, pioneering Barcelona's possession-based system as well as claiming a lot of trophies together.

Deployed far away from each other, Lionel Messi sometimes drops deep in midfield to link up with Busquets (this happened several times last season), exchanging short passes with each other in order absorb pressure and organize team play.

The Spaniard also knows how to find Messi with his incisive passing into the offensive areas and that connection was on display against Levante during the weekend, when Busquets fed Messi an amazing pass that the Argentine converted to net his first goal of the match.

#2 Jordi Alba

Alba has formed a lethal partnership with the Argentine playmaker
Alba has formed a lethal partnership with the Argentine playmaker

Many Barcelona players have linked up with Lionel Messi during the past few years, but not many of them were able to take that relationship to a great height like Spanish International Jordi Alba.

Although the duo have always shared a remarkable connection on the pitch ever since they started lining up together in the Blaugrana team, it was the departure of Neymar Jr. during the summer of 2017 that actually took their relationship to a greater height.

Their linkup came to the fore last season when they were seen constantly combining to wreak havoc on opposition defences.

Jordi Alba's pace, Lionel Messi's intelligence, their incredible vision, and decent passing abilities enabled them to quickly establish a telepathic connection between each other and that is still active this season, with the duo having combined to run riot multiple times during the current campaign.

#1 Luis Suarez

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez continue to combine perfectly even after Neymar's departure broke the MSN
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez continue to combine perfectly even after Neymar's departure broke the MSN

Barcelona signed Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez from Liverpool during Luis Enrique's tenure in the summer of 2014 and the South American attacker quickly linked up with Lionel Messi and Neymar at the Nou Camp to form the famous attacking trident called the 'MSN'.

These amazing superstars combined perfectly well, establishing a telepathic relationship on the pitch and making name for themselves across the globe with their incredible exploits in front of goal during their time together at the Nou Camp before Neymar departed for Paris Saint Germain last summer.

However, not even Neymar's decision to leave the Catalan capital was able to destroy this incredible bond as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have been going from strength to strength with their understanding of each other on the pitch in the absence of the Brazilian, coming together on several occasions to create magic and firing the Catalan giants in front of goal efficiently.

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Edited by Debjyoti Samanta