Messi and his partners in attack at Barcelona… with Griezmann up next

Ever since he made his Barcelona debut, Lionel Messi has had world-class teammates, yet while he has often performed up to and beyond expectation, his success has often come whilst playing alongside other superstars in attack.

From Ronaldinho to David Villa to Neymar, we have reviewed some of Barcelona's most fearsome forward tridents during Messi's time in the Blaugrana's first team.

Ronaldinho - Eto'o - Messi

When Messi first broke into the first team, he formed part of the attacking trio with Ronaldinho on the left and Samuel Eto'o in the middle. The Argentine was not yet an undisputed starter, alternating minutes with Ludovic Guily, but he was an important member of the squad as he played a key role in several matches. 

He helped the Blaugrana win LaLiga Santander, the Supercopa de Espana and the Champions League in the 2005/06 campaign.

Henry - Eto'o - Messi

Ronaldinho's departure saw Barcelona bring in another star name to replace him: Thierry Henry. 

The World Cup champion with France in 1998 relinquished his prominence after one season to give rise to Messi, who gradually showed just why Henry did so. In the 2008/09 season, Barcelona won LaLiga Santander, the Copa del Rey and Champions League with Pep Guardiola on the bench.

Henry (or Pedro) - Ibrahimovic - Messi

Barcelona made the decision to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a deal which saw Eto'o go the other way to Inter, but such was the Swede's profile that it was difficult for him to integrate. 

Messi was arguably the best player in the world and was coming off the back of another Champions League-winning campaign, so Ibrahimovic did not take kindly to being told that he was the second option in attack. He returned to Italy after just one season in Catalonia.

Villa - Messi - Pedro

The 2010/11 campaign saw David Villa added to the mix, having just won the 2010 World Cup with Spain. 

Guardiola decided to adopt Messi in a false nine role with Villa playing wide left, and it was from a central position that Messi was able to take his game to another level. 

In the trident, Pedro was the one who was tasked with doing the dirty work, while he also appeared in some key moments. The season ended with triumphs in both LaLiga Santander and the Champions League.

Alexis - Messi - Pedro

Alexis Sanchez joined from Udinese in 2011 and the hope from the club was that he would reach his potential with the Azulgrana, as well as being someone who could make an immediate impact. 

However, the Chilean failed to convince with his performances and left for Arsenal after three seasons at the Camp Nou, in which time he won two LaLiga Santander titles.

Neymar - Suarez - Messi

Together with Neymar and Luis Suarez, Messi won his fourth Champions League in the 2014/15 season. 

The MSN trident was lethal and impossible to mark for opposition defences.

Suarez - Messi

Neymar left the club in the summer of 2017 after Paris Saint-Germain paid his 222 million euro release clause and, despite still being strong in LaLiga Santander, Messi had to carry a lot of the burden. 

In Europe their deficiencies have been exposed, too. For this reason, Barcelona's board made it their goal to sign Antoine Griezmann in their hope of assembling another star-studded team.

And the next…

Griezmann - Messi - Suarez or Neymar?