Even Lionel Messi says it is ‘madness’. And it is. A front three of Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is just about as ‘mad’ as a front three can be.
Imagine you’re Julien Stephan, Strasbourg’s manager. You’ve got Paris Saint-Germain this weekend. Where do you begin to prepare?
Probably by praying that Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe aren’t fit to start together just yet. Save that for Brest the following week.
Lille pipped PSG to last season’s title, but let’s not kid ourselves: Mauricio Pochettino’s side are going to walk Ligue 1 this time. Whatever competition was left in that league is gone.
With Messi, Neymar and Mbappe — or MNM as they’ll inevitably become known — PSG are the footballing equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Are they the most terrific trio ever? I’m not so sure. There are a few contenders for that title.
Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry for Barcelona. Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid. Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Ronaldo for Manchester United.
But the best of them all, in my opinion, was Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar — otherwise known as Barcelona’s MSN. From 2014 to 2017, they got 364 goals and 174 assists. The flair and the connection they had, it was frightening. They won the Champions League in 2015.
That competition will act as the barometer for this PSG trio. Not Ligue 1. The record for most goals scored in a 38-match season in that league is 118, by RC Paris in 1959-60. That should be beaten.
The most points is 96, by PSG in 2015-16. That should go, too. The biggest victory stands at 12-1, for Sochaux against Valenciennes in 1935.
Even that could be bettered if they fancy being exceptionally ruthless one afternoon in the French capital. I see Pochettino using Neymar on the left, Mbappe down the middle and Messi on the right.
In truth, they are so good and so versatile that it doesn’t matter where they play! This attack will frighten the life out of every team across Europe.
Even at 34 years old, Messi is still brilliant. But they have got some doing to topple the MSN.