ALABAMA - Throughout his accomplished career, Lionel Messi has played at some of the best teams in the history of the sport. Barcelona, Argentina, PSG and now Inter Miami have been great at surrounding Messi with top-tier talent in order to elevate the Argentine's qualities. Picking just a handful of all the legendary players that have shared the pitch with Messi is a hard task, but here's The Latin Times' five best teammates in Lionel Messi's laureated career.
Ronaldinho
Perhaps the first world class teammate in Lionel Messi's career was Barcelona's previous No.10 jersey, Brazilian Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, commonly known as Ronaldinho. On May 1, 2005, in a match against Albacete, a 17 year old Messi scored his first professional goal with a fantastic lob over the keeper. Ronaldinho was the assister, lifting Messi on his back as the young Argentine celebrated in front of a jubilant Camp Nou.
They shared four seasons together at the Catalan club, helping Barcelona win two LaLiga titles and the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League title. Messi and Ronaldinho are part of a selected group of eight individuals to have won the Ballon d'Or with Barcelona: Luis Suárez (1960), Johan Cruyff (1973 & 1974), Hristo Stoichkov (1994), Rivaldo (1999), Ronaldinho (2005), Lionel Messi (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 & 2019), Alexia Putellas (2021 & 2022) and most recently Aitana Bonmatí (2023).
The "MSN" – Messi-Suárez/Neymar electric trio
When Barcelona completed the signing of Luis Suárez during the Summer of 2014, not many knew that the partnership that Messi, Neymar and the Uruguayan developed would transform them into one of the best attacking forces in the history of the sport.
In just three seasons together, the "MSN" as nicknamed by soccer fans, lifted nine trophies including two LaLiga titles and the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League title, the last one won by Barcelona.
Between the three, they managed to score a total of 363 for Barcelona across all competitions. Even more incredible, Messi-Suárez-Neymar combined for at least 100 goals in each of their three seasons as teammates.
SEASONS
2016-17
2015-16
2014-15
Messi
54 goals
41 goals
58 goals
Suárez
36 goals
59 goals
25 goals
Neymar
20 goals
31 goals
39 goals
According to Opta, the South American trio played a total of 113 matches together, across all competitions. During those games, they combined for 253 goals for Barcelona.
Ángel Di María
Just as Diego Armando Maradona had Jorge Burruchaga, Ángel Di María has been Messi's best partner at the international level. Across all the major finals Argentina has played since 2015, Di María and Messi started together in four of those, with the 2014 World Cup final being the only exception, as Di María picked up an unfortunate injury prior to the game.
'El Fideo' has been a crucial part in Messi's career with Argentina, as he has been his sidekick with Argentina for more than 10 years. Di María's three goals in major finals for the 'Albiceleste' are the most scored by any Argentine player.
The Rosario natives also shared the dressing room when Lionel Messi shocked the world and announced his move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. Together, they won two Ligue 1 titles with the Parisian outfit. It will be interesting to see if Messi, now settled in Miami, urges his teammate to join him at South Beach.
Kylian Mbappé
Maybe the Messi-Mbappé partnership did not last as long as the soccer world would've wished for, but it did leave a mark on those fans that watched them share the pitch at the Parc des Princes. In two seasons as teammates, the duo won two Ligue 1 titles and finished the 2022-23 season as the leaders in goals scored (Mbappé, 29) and assists provided (16).
23 – Duos that have combined in the most goals in Ligue 1 since 2021/22:
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) April 15, 2023
23 – Mbappé-Messi
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11 – Mbappé-Neymar
10
9 – Neymar-Messi
Fusional🤝. #PSGRCL pic.twitter.com/EgjJe7Umcp
Such has been Mbappé's emergence as a generational talent that, aged 25, he has already scored more senior goals (304) than Messi (279) and Cristiano Ronaldo (160) managed to score at the same age.
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