MSN, BBC and now MNM: ranking of Messi, Neymar, Mbappe
Where are Messi, Neymar and Mbappe in the history of the finest football threes?
The exit of Barcelona to Argentina shook the world of football and Paris St. Germain now has a truly fantastic offensive unit…
His enthusiasm at playing on the same side Lionel Messi has never been veiled from Marco Verratti.
Just in February the midfielder of Paris Saint Germain had been queried about the prospects of the argentinean attacker changing Camp Nou for the Parc des Princes, when the entire breadth of Barcelona’s financial crisis was starting to emerge.
“It would be fantastic to have him in a squad,
“I’d give Neymar and Messi the ball and stay behind so I’m just looking at them a little.
This desire now comes true, with PSG confirming the Argentina captain’s signing on Tuesday evening on a free transfer. It cannot, of course, be asked how the Parisians got away with that? In the same summer, Achraf Hakimi was signed by Inter for an initial €60.000 million (£51m/$70m) and has awarded massive agreements to Sergio Ramos, Gigio Donnarumma, Gini Wijnaldum – Psg, most in-demand free agents on the market, have now provided Messi with a net salary of €35 million (€30m/$41 million) a year.
It’s all this for two reasons: they already have Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, two of the most expensive wage-list players in history, and the world continues under the severe economic consequences of an earthquake.
Football supporters, disgusted by the fact that Europe’s elite leagues are not in competition with others, the recent concentration of talent in oil-financed clubs and the Super League are threatening to end up with countless clubs across the continent, wonder, of course, where is ‘financial fair play?’
The president of the PSG Nasser Al-Khelaifi believes that the book has done all, but its summer space demonstrates that it has not been dead if UEFA’s faulty but vital control effort to control expenditure has been done.
Nevertheless, we cannot deny that many football fans can unite all these serious and reasonable concerns and look forward to Messi teaming up with Neymar and Mbappe.
So it is with the modern football fan.We already had two of the four best players in the world,” ex-PSG winger Ludovic Giuly gushed in Le Parisien. This is the third! What do you think about the fact that Neymar, Messi, and Mbappe will all be playing in the same league? “It’s mind-blowing.” In fact, PSG may present the greatest attacking combination in football history. Now, Messi’s otherworldly genius will be able to combine Neymar’s amazing trickery and Mbappe’s blistering pace — the potential is frightening.What Messi and Neymar did with Luis Suarez in Barcelona’s renowned ‘MSN’ attack might happen again, with the South Americans winning the Champions League in their first season together. Of course, having a talented attacking line does not ensure success.With some of the greatest midfielders of all time in their ranks, Barcelona were made to “suffer” in the 2015 Champions League final win against Juventus, as Gerard Pique revealed.
“It’s easier with three players up front with such talent and speed, though,” the defender said. When you pass the ball to them, they immediately create scoring possibilities.”
As a result, Messi’s speed has slowed down. He is visibly slowing down as he approaches the age of 34. Apart from scoring more goals than any player in La Liga last season (30), he also completed the most dribbles (159) and created more opportunities (77).
A fifth Champions League title remains his goal, as he proved once again in the off-season when he led Argentina to Copa America triumph.
Only a handful few clubs could afford to pay Messi’s astronomical salary demands, but PSG offered him the best chance to win more European championships.
A minimal standard will be set for this season’s ‘MNM’ forward line.
To be compared to the best trios of the game, it’s a must.
Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, and Cristiano Ronaldo won four Champions Leagues with Real Madrid’s ‘BBC’ forward line, including a remarkable three in a row.
Although they won five straight European Cup titles between 1956 and 1960, some Blancos fans believe that Alfredo Di Stefani, Ferenc Puskas and Paco Gento remain the club’s finest attacking trio.
There are other players who have achieved the same level of consistent success as Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe.
It is quite unlikely that a statue in the mould of George Best, Dennis Law and Bobby Charlton will be erected outside the Parc des Princes in celebration of ‘MNM’ due to his age and the expiration of his contract.
While we’re about to watch the most expensively assembled offensive line ever put together by a football team, it’s not going to last very long. It’s possible that it’ll be dissolved within a year.
MNM’s time may be brief, but it will be memorable.
Everyone, including Verratti, will love watching PSG play, even if it is for a brief period of time…
END
