Former Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has appeared to take a dig at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) with his latest remarks. He spoke about the success of his trio alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar.
The Uruguayan played for six years at Barca after joining from Liverpool in 2014. He has reflected on how he forged a terrific attacking partnership with the aforesaid South American duo.
Suarez, with Messi and Neymar flanking him, guided Barcelona to a second treble in 2015. The trio won plenty more trophies in the following years, while also racking up incredible goalscoring records along the way.
He even famously won the European Golden Boot in 2016 after netting 40 La Liga goals. He trumped then-Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo for the prize as the latter came in second with 35.
Suarez’s Argentine and Brazilian attacking cohorts have a big role to play in it. He has acknowledged the same in his latest comments, taking a sly dig at PSG. The Parisian club have once again came a cropper in Europe this season despite having Messi and Mbappe in their ranks.
Speaking about his partnership with Messi and Neymar, Suarez said (via Mundo Deportivo):
“In 2016 I was fighting for the Golden Boot with Cristiano Ronaldo. They helped me win it , they let me kick penalties, they gave me the passes so I could score the goals. I will always be grateful to them.”
He added:
“That is a demonstration that for us, Leo was the best in the world and Ney, the second. But that they helped me win a Golden Boot, I will always thank them.”
In a dig at PSG, Suarez added that big players can play together in the same team as long as there is a desire to achieve collective success. He said:
“And that is a demonstration that three stars can play together in the same team with the competition of wanting to win for the team and not individually. That is what made us better and good companions.”
The Parisians are currently leading the race for the Ligue 1 title. They were, however, eliminated from the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the second year running, this time by Bayern Munich.
PSG mired in ego clashes
Lionel Messi might be the biggest name at PSG, but Kylian Mbappe is seen as the future, although he’s come under criticism lately for his reported Kremlin-sized ego.
This isn’t the first time that the French giants have witnessed something like this, though. Neymar and Edinson Cavani reportedly experienced a rocky relationship at the club some years back.
While their big stars have garnered individual honors, PSG have consistently suffered in Europe. This could perhaps be due to the lack of a desire for collective success among their key players.