How MSN Became the Greatest Trio Ever!

[Music] thank you in the summer of 2013 Barcelona were Flying high in the midst of a furious El Clasico rivalry they had reclaimed the crown as champions of Spain scoring in each of the 38 matches on route to a 22nd title as record-breaking centurions now established as an absolute phenomenon Lionel Messi was responsible for over 40 percent of their goals that campaign while his providers Pedro David via Alexis Sanchez and CES Fabregas floated in orbit of the number 10. [Music] still under the inspiration of Pep Guardiola Tito Villanova had organized his team to focus on

possession-oriented high-pressing attacking football and by The Season's End Bar sad further solidified their reputation as one of the most formidable teams in World football nonetheless humiliation in Europe at the hands of eventual winners Bayern Munich and a bitter defeat to Los Blancos in the supercopper blemished and otherwise brilliant campaign messy dependencia was a term coined and used in the Spanish media around this time commenting on the club's dependence on their Argentine star and the board recognized that they needed to invest in another high-profile name to muffle this notion to transfer Rumor Mill had started and

Barca were looking to get involved via at 31 years old was hungry for a more prominent role and tempted by Diego simeone's ambitious project at Atletico he made a move to Madrid while Thiago Alcantara departed for Bayern wanting to enhance their attacking prowess the Catalan scouted for a replacement aiming their site specifically towards South America in Santos a 20 year old Winger was lighting up the Brazilian Top Flight and earning comparisons to Pele since his senior debut at 17 Neymar Jr's electric speed fluid dribbling and natural Flair was mesmerizing onlookers as he ascended to the

peak of the continent 2011 was the year when Barcelona's notice was initially taken during the final of the FIFA Club World Cup able to witness the youngsters quality at first hand the Brazilian only improved from this point scoring the goal that won the team the prestigious puscus Awards and going on to become the first Brazilian to be named a South American footballer of the Year twice consecutively since the king as well as the extraordinary ability he had star power by such a young age and Barca recognized his potential to not only be one of the

planet's best footballers but also a sporting icon in the way that Ronaldinho had been during his time in Catalonia after a pair of 10 plus million euro installments since 2011 the transfer was confirmed in early June of 2013 signing a five-year contract for the price of 57 million euros easily the blood grana's most exciting acquisition in years he had no clear ceiling and by sharing the pitch with Messi The Prodigy was expected to develop into a European standout who could bolster bastard's front line and if necessary take on a leading role in the future Villanova

who at points had taken time away from the sidelines during the prior season due to his illness resigned so he could focus on getting treatment and was replaced by Gerardo Martino who wanted to stick with the attacking width dropping Neymar out left while Messi remains Central as the focal point of the offense it was expected for the Brazilian to need an adaptation period in which he'd pick up on the more rigid tactical demands of European football and gets acclimated to boss's tikitaka approach he made appearances off the bench in the opening couple La Liga games

and in the super copper visiting the galderon heading in his first goal for the club seven minutes after being brought on which leveled the scoreline and after a goal of second leg at the new camp Barcelona were Victors by means of Neymar's away goal into September his first League start came contributing an assist in their 3-2 win over Valencia to continue their season's Flawless beginning the coolest first impressions of their new number 11 were very positive as the Brazilian demonstrated glimpses of his immense talent and made a significant impact on the pitch in the first

months by mid-october he went on a streak of five matches back to back in which he contributed a goal and a week later he scored and assisted in boss's 2-1 Triumph as hosts to Real Madrid which played a major part in forming the bond between he and the supporters inside 14 La Liga matches Neymar had accumulated six goals and eight assists watch at all [Applause] while in the Champions League he'd set up another four and netted a hat-trick against Celtic sharing the attack with Messi and Alexi Sanchez the trio were lethal together sharing 22 goals

as bars Atop The Table going into the winter break however the latter half of their campaign was riddled with setbacks Messi's muscle tears incapacitated him for a whole month while Neymar suffered ankle and foot injuries that opted him out of eight matches from January to May Martino struggled to get consistent performances from his side into 2014 going from winning all but two of their first 18 La Liga matches to dropping over 20 points after Christmas the talismanic 10 bounced back from a lukewarm start to the season and averaged a goal a game in the last

19 fixtures keeping them ahead of Atletico who are in close Pursuit simeone's cultroneros had handed the domestic Champions another quarterfinal upset prolonging their European droughts and on the last day of the Season Diego godin's equalizer clutched the title from Catalan hands a year in which atleti robbed Bassa of the championship and real had both overcome them in the Cup Final and conquered Europe to seal Ledesma this had been another frustrating year for the blograna though there had been ups and downs Neymar had scored and assisted 15 times each in an impressive starting Year in Spain

and integrated into the squad quickly forming friendships with fellow compatriots Danny Alves and Adriano but also showing signs of synergy with Messi it was a start but nonetheless there was a missing link and the recently appointed president Josef Maria bartimu was Keen to rectify the issues so that Barca could compete across all fronts once again he started things off by welcoming former B team coach Luis Enrique to take over from Martino but considering it was a World Cup summer player transfers was a more complicated ordeal into July Sanchez was sold to Arsenal for a sum

of 42 million euros helping fund the purchase of the man to fill the chilean's vacancy Liverpool's number nine Luis Suarez had been the Premier League standout concluding the season with 31 goals from 33 matches collecting the golden boots and almost every other individual Accolade making him the most informed Striker on the planet yeah El pistolero was seen as an ideal fit for basa as his link up play and tenacious work rate would be stylistically compatible with the catalans adding some serious Firepower up top though on their radar Suarez wasn't a top priority until the World

Cup began and after bagging a brace in the groups versus England Uruguay met Italy needing all three points to escape elimination goalless for the majority the main talking point of the match came in the 79th minute when Suarez bit the shoulder of Defender Giorgio kiolini an illegal action that wasn't noticed until after the final Whistle by which point Uruguay had Advanced and gliozuri was sent packing this wasn't a first offense and FIFA charged Suarez with a four-month ban ruling him out of the rest of the tournament and any club football until October the suspension intrigued

basa who knew they could get him for a slightly reduced price and put forth an 82 million euro bid which was accepted the day after the Sanchez deal making him the most expensive Striker ever at the time despite being uninvolved on Match days he could train with the team as of early August enabling the marking name to create a rapport with the squad and he found almost instant chemistry with Messi and Neymar as the campaign kicked off Enrique's side were thriving even without the Uruguayan the South American pair had marinated after a year together forging

a greater connection that was almost telepathic with the 10 often the supplier for Neymar and in the opening eight League fixtures the duo were involved in 24 goals as the blaugrana went unbeaten October rolled around and four days after dispatching iax inside the nou Camp the first El Clasico of the campaign took place the most intimidating possible fixture for Suarez to make his official debut at the Bernabeu early Excellence from Neymar set up by the Uruguayan gave them an advantage but it was short-lived as the European Champions thumped them 3-1 much like Neymar Suarez needed

time to adjust and therefore wasn't exhibiting his typical predatory instincts in the face of goal instead it was the other two getting on the scoresheet with Messi standing out with a pair of hat-tricks by Christmas still the former scouser was far from futile as his individual all-round quality and Relentless work rates proved useful for the team claiming five La Liga assists in this goalless period he ended his dry spell in a November UCL game against apoel Nicosia which got the ball rolling putting another past PSG ensuring the top spot in their group into the new

year Barca really started picking up speed ripping teams apart domestically and maintaining some consistency as they ascended the table the new number one Mark Andre testagen was solid in between the sticks Ivan rakitic and Andres Iniesta were invaluable in the center holding onto possession and advancing the ball however the stars of the show were the front three dubbed MSN Messi Neymar and Suarez after months of icebreaking and getting familiar both on and off the pitch this attacking Trio had become something special the Argentine was the Maestro of the bunch and as we well know the

most gifted who could effortlessly lay waste to entire defenses and create a path into which he'd Drive perfect deliveries for his teammates with Supreme vision unparalleled balance and frequent goal scoring Messi was the brain of the Triad making things tick in the final third the Brazilian down his favored left was overwhelming his speed head spinning change of Direction and Specialty in one-on-ones made him a genuine nightmare for fullbacks who he either left on the floor or hopelessly chasing him down was being realized now even a regular goal scorer on top of the pure Wizardry the

23 year old was an efficient Entertainer the Uruguayan was irrepressible as the final piece of the puzzle his positioning reading of the game and clinical finishing was what people knew he would bring to Catalonia but El pistolero was so much more a high-level playmaker he was selfless in the blue and red opting for the pass over the shot when the better choice an unrelenting Spirit also he would press high and Chase the bull like a dog adding a fresh Dimension to the entire team Trio was so difficult to face as they interchanged positionally throughout the

match and as their time together grew the connection improved exchanging quick passes making clever runs and generally bamboozling backlines into 2015 the league became their playground and between January and may MSN scored 54 goals and gave 30 assists with Messi in particular shining [Music] one in the Copa del Rey Neymar was the star converting three braces in five games to steer them to the final given the form basa were pipped as favorites in Europe as the competition entered its knockout stage and in February a double from the nine helped the Spaniards overcome the English Champions

Man City storming into the quarters they again met the parisians but another brace from the Uruguayan [Music] and triple across the legs from Neymar made them semi-finalists Bayern were bound to test them yet with momentum on their side at home a messy double inside three minutes came late into the tie before setting up the Brazilian to whitewash the bavarians [Music] for the returning Munich the Winger was once again the hero killing the tie inside half an hour and sending them to Berlin for their first Champions League final in four years ahead of the game The

Block Run had plenty on their plate as Suarez winner at the Bernabeu had boosted their Edge to Four Points [Music] and Enrique's Squad knowing Perfection would do it maintained an invincible run missing out on only four points across 10 games to clinch a 23rd La Liga title [Music] lost before the Copa del Rey was to be decided hosting Bilbao for the final for the 11th time of the campaign Messi buried a brace the first of which is maybe the greatest in the competition's history [Applause] and Neymar continued his goal again form in the cup to

hand Chevy another piece of silverware Whispers of the treble had loudouned and the ultimate hurdle awaited them in the form of Italian Champions Juventus with opposing techniques allegri's Juve were more defensively minded while basa preferred an aggressive style and thus the final was an engaging watch the catalans began assertively and broke the bianconeri barrier four minutes in through rakitic who finished off a move that involved nine Outfield players the rest of the half was quiet but after the break faster's dominance evaporated as Juve restored the balance before the hour pendulum could have swung either way

from this point however 10 minutes later a rebounded shot from Messi was punted past Buffon by the number nine restoring their lead foreign goal kept a combat on the cards until at the death the Argentine countered playing Pedro through who slotted a pass into Neymar [Music] this tied the 23 year old with Ronaldo and Messi as the competition's top scorer That season and when the whistle blew seconds later Barcelona had made history as the only Club to ever achieve the European Continental treble twice this was amongst boss's finest Seasons to date and msn's impact had

been immense scoring 122 goals together the most in a season for an attacking Trio in Spanish football history their solo qualities have Blended exquisitely producing glorious moments and moving 50 quicker than everyone else as well as turning up in crucial moments on the road to this rare feat it would be hard to top the year they'd had but nevertheless as the new season got underway the Champions continued to excel the squad was barely changed except for the departure of legendary Skipper Chevy Hernandez and with Enrique still at the helm the blograno looked to just do

it all over again all started on a very positive note trouting severe for the super Cup in August after an absolute Thriller in tablisi and collecting all possible points from the first four League games diagnosed with mumps Neymar missed some August fixtures and Messi's knee trouble returned in October rendering him useless for seven weeks still the side coped well in absence of their Talisman with Suarez stepping up powering home a hat-trick versus ibar and featuring alongside the Brazilian on the scoresheet in a four-nil demolition of Real Madrid who were desperate to Dethrone their rivals upon

Messi's return the trio restarted their haunting of the Spanish Top Flight dismantling defenses for fun and racking up a stupid tally of goals [Applause] wonderful on the 3rd of March a winner rayovalikano was their 35th game undefeated eclipsing the 1989 Real Madrid National Record which bars are extended to 39 before the Classico Los Blancos were their greatest threat and after losing to them in the derby two more back-to-back losses allowed Royale to narrow the Gap at the table Summit with the great white shark in their rear view Barca couldn't afford to slip up so Enrique

kicked his side into gear for the lasting five League games visiting akarunya MSN pummeled deportivo each having a hand in their eight nil Conquest but Suarez was named man of the match for his four goals and three assists inside the riaford this superb performance had given extra impetus to the team and three days later they battered sporting hihon divvying up the six goals between the front three one for Messi Messi heads in one for Neymar [Music] and another four goal hole from the Uruguayan who made history as the only La Liga player to ever net

four goals in two back-to-back matches finding the back of the net again for the next victories over Bettis and espanol who are five nil victims to MSN one match remained and a single point separated Spain's juggernauts while real were in Corona the blograna traveled to Granada needing all three points to seal the two peats having pillaged 11 goals from the prior four games Suarez was on an Unstoppable run and came in clutch once more burying a first half double in Andalucia before completing his hat-trick minutes ahead of the final whistle which declared Barcelona Top Flight

Champions going back to back Delray final was penciled in for Sunday of the ensuing week and having made child's player the competition so far stacking up 25 goals on the eight-game path to the finale another thunderous MSN showing was forecast chaos came in the Calderon 11 yellows and three Reds were shown mainly to Sevilla who managed to hold off the trio for the entire 90 but struggled to score themselves into extra time it was the left-back Alba who broke the deadlock latching onto Messi's lofted longboard [Music] then at the death the Argentine combined with Neymar

to beat the offside trap and kill the tie the domestic double had been pulled off and MSN had reinforced their reputation as Europe's deadliest Trio in an injury plagued year Messi's influence went beyond statistics orchestral in his free role he drifted from the right to Second Striker where he either scored [Applause] or forged chances on goal providing over 65 contributions in all across the nine months now as one of the best dribblers on the face of the planet Neymar had enjoyed another prolific campaign breaking the 20 goal barrier easily showcasing his development in finishing while

continuing to enthrall audiences with his dazzling footwork the MVP however was Suarez who hit his Prime with a career best output of 59 goals in all earning him the petichi and European golden shoe Awards more than just a selfish sniper he shared the number one spot on a league assists chart with Messi becoming the only ever in Spain to lead La Liga in both departments the uruguayan's clinical form had a major hand in bettering msn's Collective gold Tally from last year taking it to a remarkable 131 for all their Brilliance this campaign lived in the

shadow of the treble and their quarterfinal exit to Atletico again in the Champions League was seen as a bottle job given bass's perfect domestic form versus Simeone also the narrow La Liga triumph over real was made futile as the dance squad plundered the big ears once again announcing themselves as the continent's number one because Real Madrid a UEFA Champions League winners into a third season together they steamrolled severe to claim the super copper with Messi as Captain in iniesta's absence a role that the Argentine took up frequently in this year domestically Suarez started things off

with a hat-trick on Match day one to which Messi added a double in a 6-2 opener and all continued in this familiar high-scoring fashion [Music] though all three were ranked inside the top five for 2016's Player of the Year Messi lost the Ballon d'Or in December and decided to up the ante returning to Spain with a Vengeance carrying the team at times he averaged a goal per game throughout the year and in Europe also he was basa's driving force achieving back-to-back group stage hat-tricks and converting the winning goals against Celtic to qualify for the knockouts

Neymar had been noticeably quieter into 2017. statistically falling short of the mark he'd set before and acting as more of an assistor than scorer yet he still proved to be a principal Cog of the team creating moments of magic as MSN continued to wreak havoc the most memorable highlight of this season came in March as Enrique's group tried to upset some cruel odds drawing PSG for the ucl's first knockout round the fantasy of European Conquest seemingly collapsed enduring a four-nil humiliation at the park de France lethargic of wandering possession and even Messi hadn't seemed himself

a miracle was their only chance if it would happen anywhere it would be the nou camp where 96 000 coolers gathered in attendance desperate for an early sign of Hope and in the third minute this is what they got as Suarez nodded the ball over the line to go one up PSG kept it together as pressure mounted but in the 40th minute kazawa's attempted clearance went very wrong by the halfway point The Comeback was 50 complete and Neymar who had posed the greatest threat to the French back line traded with his Skipper and won a

penalty for Messi to deal with only one away the feeling of Destiny was destroyed by Edison cavani's heart volley 12 minutes later [Applause] an away goal left Barca needing three more to advance and as the clock ticked on psg's resilience shut MSN out for over 20 minutes before from just outside the corner of the Box the Brazilian curled a free kick Pastor rooted Kevin Trapp with two minutes of the 90 remaining 60 seconds later Messi floated a pass into Suarez who marquinos had gotten slightly too intimate with for the ref's liking blowing for another spot

kick which Neymar this time lashed away [Applause] 40 seconds remained of the five-minute injury time when Neymar clipped a lob into the crowded box for the full-back Sergey Roberto to latch onto foreign [Applause] this made it 6-5 on Aggregates completing the greatest comeback in European history dubbed la ramontada involvements from each member this tire captured the power of MSN and Neymar in particular whose two goals penalty win and decisive assist earned him the man of the match title amid all ecstasy the initial four gold dropping was a cause for concern and in the next round

a formidable Juventus exposed bass's frailties in Turin and then in Spain withheld the three goal cushion thanks to bonucci and kiolini the dream of repeating the treble had fallen flat and with their season in danger of unraveling they focused on the league where on account of their loss in Malaga they trailed real the next stop was the Bernabeu and given Neymar's three-match ban having seen red Los Blancos had a leg up in the title race showing why many deem him the goat Messi continued an amazing scoring Streak by ruling out casemira's first half strike and

then with the classical deadlocked at two all he answered Alba's cutback for an epic 92nd minute winner the number 10's 500th goal in the blue and red still reliant on real to slip up the blograna had five matches left in which MSN logged 15 goals and carried them to a perfect record to end the campaign but it wasn't enough as goes from CR7 and Benzema put the game Beyond Malaga capturing Perez a 33rd La Liga trophy void of League or european silverware it was hard to see this season as anything more than a failure there

was a chance of saving it however and thanks to efforts from Messi and Neymar they took it overcoming alaves as the first team to collect three consecutive Copa del Reyes since the 1950s 2016 -17 had been a sign of the times for Barca with aging players and a weaker team overall their dependence on MSN had reached an all-time high amassing 111 goals together with Messi averaging over a goal a game the Trio's Third campaign side by side once again showed their offensive proficiency and though they thrust basa to an impressive 90 points total Madrid's overall

strength bettered them in the end changes were needed to achieve a brighter future but one that wasn't anticipated came that summer in August 2017 Neymar's legal team paid off his release Clause a staggering 222 million euros that was triggered by PSG the deal made him the most expensive footballer of all time more than doubling pogba's United move a year prior and tied the Brazilian to the Parisian Club until at least 2022 the club Owners as a way of finally establishing PSG as a global sporting Powerhouse and by Neymar himself as a chance to take on

the prominent role both parties saw this as a chance to raise their profiles probably with the Ballon d'Or in mind he felt overshadowed by Messi's immense presence and wanted to cast his own at a growing Juggernaut who can guarantee him both UCL football and the MVP spot Messi and Suarez stayed put but this was the breaking of MSN the most fruitful deadly and entertaining Trio in the sports history since the Brazilian Bid Farewell the club have tried to rekindle a similar spark with high profile signings like Usman dembele Philippe coutinho and Antoine Griezmann but the

millions were ultimately spent in vain for reasons such as injuries and the extreme pressure the level of consistent form the name are exhibited couldn't be matched and as the lasting members drifted out of their prime years the club suffered hitting a rut the Uruguayan jumped ship for Atletico where he added a fifth La Liga and after a year alone bassa's all-time top scorer emotionally took his leave reuniting with Neymar to complete the jigsaw of another menacing Triad in the modern era of the sports no one has seen anything quite like MSN three world-class players at

the absolute peak of their powers able to combine with such fluid ease and Achieve an absurd scoring total of over 360 goals in 152 matches together short but sweet it only lasted three years however the Trio's Legacy is massive regarded by those with the fortune of watching them the most potent front line of all time