'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Lionel Messi is an outstanding football player. With seven Ballon d'Or awards to his name, the Argentine has etched his name in the history books. Football is a team sport though and no matter the pedigree of an individual, it is difficult to achieve results without solid partners.
The Argentine forward left Barcelona last summer to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). In Paris, he found himself alongside Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in the attacking third.
While the partnership is yet to take off, on paper, it looks like the best trio in the world at the moment. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has always been surrounded by top-class players throughout his career at Barcelona.
Messi has been part of some really interesting attacking trio over the years. We take a look at the five greatest such trios featuring the Argentine.
#5 Lionel Messi - Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Pedro
A bit of an odd choice here as the trio of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Messi, and Pedro only played together for one season. Thierry Henry was also in the squad for the 2009-10 season but Pedro's emergence restricted the opportunities for the Frenchman.
On paper, it is a strong trio, with Ibrahimovic starting in the No. 9 role flanked by his two teammates. However, the then-22-year-old Lionel had told Pep Guardiola that he wanted to play in the center, which relegated Ibrahimovic to an unnatural position.
Though the trio won the La Liga, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup that season, Ibrahimovic and Messi never clicked on the pitch. They combined for 62 of Barcelona's 98 goals in La Liga that season.
#4 Lionel Messi - David Villa - Pedro
David Villa signed for Barcelona just ahead of the FIFA World Cup in 2010. Having won the competition with Spain that summer, he traveled to Barcelona brimming with confidence.
While Villa was used to playing as a lone striker with Valencia, he quickly adapted to his role as the secondary striker to his 23-year-old teammate. Pedro was already adept at playing alongside the Argentine. He was also a teammate of Villa with the Spain national team, so the chemistry was already there.
In the very first season, the trio helped the clubs win the La Liga, Supercopa de Espana, and the Champions League. They combined for 62 goals in La Liga in the 2010-11 season.
The trio's combined tally dropped to 60 the following season, with the left-footed magician alone scoring 50 goals as the club won the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.
#3 Lionel Messi - Ronaldinho - Samuel Eto'o
Messi, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o, the three players are match-winners in their own capacity. However, when they played together at Barcelona between 2004 and 2008, they sent a chill down their opponents' spines.
Ronaldinho took the Argentine under his wings and helped the young prodigy win the Golden Boy award in 2005 while he won the Ballon d'Or himself that year. Eto'o finished the 2005-06 campaign as the league's top scorer with 26 goals, while Ronaldinho also bagged 17 goals. The young Argentine was yet to find his shooting boots with the club.
After their success in the 2006 Supercopa de Espana, the trio failed to win a trophy together as Ronaldinho left for AC Milan in 2008.
#2 Lionel Messi - Samuel Eto'o - Thierry Henry
In the summer of 2008, Ronaldinho left Barcelona. However, the club had secured the services of Thierry Henry and it was his time to step up and replace the Brazilian in the club's new fearsome trio.
The Frenchman took no time in forming a formidable partnership with the other two players up front and enjoyed his best season at the club, scoring 19 goals. Across all competitions, the three superstars scored 100 goals, as they were the driving force behind the club's first-ever continental treble.
Eto'o left the club at the end of the season to join Inter Milan. He would win another treble with the Italian giants the following season. Henry would also follow a season later as the Argentina star was shifted to a central role.
#1 Lionel Messi - Neymar- Luis Suarez
MSN is such an innocuous acronym but between 2014 and 2017, it was the most dreaded phrase in world football. Neymar and Luis Saurez alongside the 2014 World Cup Golden Ball winner formed one of the greatest trios ever seen in world football. They could have scored 100+ goals in all four of their seasons together, had Suarez not been banned for roughly half of the 2014-15 season.
Over the next three seasons, the trio scored - 122, 131, and 111 goals across all competitions to go down in the history books. They also helped the club to their second European treble in the 2014-15 campaign.
In three years, the trio combined for an astonishing tally of 354 goals and registered 203 assists.
