Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez have been told who they have to thank for scoring “100 goals per season” during their time at Barcelona.
♦ South American formed ‘MSN’ partnership
♦ Helped Blaugrana to several major honours
♦ Defensive colleagues allowed them to thrive
WHAT HAPPENED?
Three iconic South American forwards formed the prolific ‘MSN’ attacking unit while working together at Camp Nou. They led the Blaugrana to La Liga and Champions League titles, with opposition defences unable to contain the obvious threat that they posed.
WHAT RAKITIC SAID
While that fearsome frontline generated plenty of headlines at Barca, Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic has told the ARLS podcast of how their remarkable exploits in the final third were made possible: “Of course, I can say that I enjoyed playing with Messi, Neymar and Suarez. Hopefully, they say that they enjoyed playing with Rakitic too. They scored 100 goals per season, but they couldn’t have done it without the support at the back.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Rakitic spent six years at Barcelona between 2014 and 2020, with his ability to both win the ball and move it on complementing the talents of the all-time greats that lined up alongside him. He added on the challenge of shining under the brightest of spotlights: “When I joined Barcelona, I knew that I would play with [Andres] Iniesta, Xavi, and [Sergio] Busquets. I knew that I had to change my playing style.”
WHAT NEXT?
Having previously graced the same squad and division as eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, Rakitic – who is 36 years of age – is now plying his trade alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar in the Saudi Pro League, with a move to Al-Shabab completed in January.