MSN: An unstoppable trio

Messi's partnership with Neymar and Suárez was certainly the most powerful in the world. Their numbers were incredible, of course, and in their short 3-season span between the 2014/15 and 2016/17 season, managed to win a lot of titles. So without further ado, let's look at what the MSN did in that time.

Prior to Suárez's arrival in 2014, Messi and Neymar had a good linkup between each other in the attack, but it wasn't so good with Alexis Sánchez. When Suárez was signed, the dynamic changed significantly, since Messi's role as a false 9 was now covered by Suárez, a striker, so Messi now played on the right wing once again. Not only that, but all three of them became friends not long after, which impacted their games a lot when they were together.

In terms of titles, they won 1 Champions League, 2 La Liga, 3 Copa del Rey, 1 Spanish Super Cup, 1 European Super Cup, and 1 Club World Cup. It also includes the treble won in the 2014/15 season, the quintuple won in 2015, and the domestic treble in 2016.

In terms of statistics, they played 113 games together, all 3 of them scored in 22 games, all 3 of them got involved in a goal in 38 games, which are insane numbers.

MSN ended when Neymar left Barcelona for PSG on August 2017 for a record €222M, but its legacy has not been forgotten at all, and still remains the deadliest trio in history.

All of Messi's Ballon d'Or presentations

With 6 Ballon d'Ors to his name, he has obviously had a presentation for all 6 of them, which will be today's subject. While many players could dream of presenting even 1 Ballon d'Or in front of their club's crowd, Messi has had the privilege of doing so multiple times.

The first one was in 2009, in Barcelona's Camp Nou game against Espanyol. He walked up the stairs to the pitch, got handed the Ballon d'Or by his mother, and proudly showcased it to the crowds while they and his team-mates clapped for him. He didn't play the game though to give him rest.

The second one was in 2010, although he made the presentation in early January of 2011. Against Real Betis at home, it was Puyol this time who handed him the award, as the claps were heard across the entire stadium and Messi posed with the award. He later scored a hat-trick in the game to confirm his superiority over the rest.

The third time was in January of 2012, once again against Real Betis. With the Ballon d'Or sitting in a table, Messi lifted it and showed it to the crowds, same as always. Barça also showcased their Club World Cup in the same presentation. This time, he scored a brace in the game to top it off.

January 2013 rolled around and Messi won the Ballon d'Or for the 4th time in a row. His presentation was against Málaga. All 4 Ballon d'Ors were shown between two tables, and Messi grabbed his 4th to show to the public. He later scored a goal and gave 2 assists in Barcelona's 3-1 win.

After some wait, the 5th Ballon d'Or came in 2015, and Messi presented it to the Camp Nou against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga. He got handed the award, showed it off to the crowds, and then the team posed with the Ballon d'Or. He scored a penalty early on but unfortunately got subbed off at half-time for some thigh problems.

Finally, in 2019, Messi won his 6th (and last at the moment) Ballon d'Or. This time, it was truly special, since his son, Thiago Messi, was the one that gave him the award. He went on to score a hat-trick in the game, his last since then.

All of Messi's Ballon d'Or celebrations were special in their own way, and also amplify his greatness as the only player to have won 6 Ballon d'Ors. I hope you liked this entry and I'll see you in the next blog.

Messi against Argentinian teams

Since he left Newell's Old Boys for Barcelona, Messi obviously hasn't had the chance to play against teams from Argentina often. However, he has in fact played against some of them, which this entry will look in deep. Without further ado, let's get into it.

His first encounter would have been against Boca Juniors in the 2008 Joan Gamper, but he was playing in the Olympics at that time so he wasn't in the squad.

His first real encounter with an Argentinian team was against Estudiantes de La Plata in the 2009 Club World Cup final. Estudiantes had won the Libertadores that year so they earned a spot in the tournament. Boselli opened up the score with a header, and nearly won them the final, but Pedro equalized the game near the end with another header. In extra-time, Messi made a well-remembered goal with his chest to win the Club World Cup, which would be Barça's complete Sextuple. He also won the Golden Ball in the final and in the tournament overall, as well as the Silver Boot.

Later in 2015, this time they faced River Plate in the Club World Cup final, a team which Messi had made some practices on, but never went anywhere. He scored the first of Barcelona's three goals in the game, the two after coming from Suárez. This time, Messi won the Silver Ball in the final and in the tournament.

The last time he played against a team from Argentina was against Boca Juniors in the 2018 Joan Gamper. He assisted the first goal for Malcolm, scored the second goal with a nice chip, and Rafinha ended the job, making it 3-0 for Barça. Messi was the MVP of the final for his great performance.

Even though those teams are from his own country, Messi performs as always against them. I hope you liked this entry and I'll see you in the next one.