Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Neymar formed one of the greatest attacking trios in soccer history at FC Barcelona, but despite their dominance, they managed to win only one UEFA Champions League title together. Years later, a former Barca teammate who shared the pitch with them has revealed why the team didn’t capture more silverware.
With such a flawless attacking trio, Barcelona needed a strong backbone to maintain consistency over the years, and one of the key figures providing that stability was Ivan Rakitić. The Croatian midfielder, who recently announced his retirement, spent six seasons at the club and was part of the side that lifted the 2015 Champions League trophy.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football YouTube channel, Rakitić was asked what it was like to play alongside the MSN trio, and his answer was clear: “Just enjoy. Already bad passes are good passes. It was an attack that European football will never have again. They’re big players, and the ones that can do the difference, with this attack it was something really special.“
The former Barcelona midfielder then reflected on the team’s success, and the potential missed on it. “That’s why I like to say that we won a lot, but normally it could’ve been much more. It was a bit of a shame for us that we didn’t get even more titles,” Rakitic candidly stated.
FC Barcelona’s team in the 2015-16 season.
When asked about what went wrong, Rakitić pointed to Neymar’s 2017 departure to Paris Saint-Germain as a turning point for the team: “I think, first of all, we had to do everything to push Neymar to stay with us. That was the first step, and then finally just get in every game at 100%. I think at the highest level, if you just grow down a little bit, you’re in big problems.
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“Looking back a little bit I think it could’ve gone much better for us, but this is also the good part of football,” he added. he added. Rakitić also mentioned that a lack of readiness at key moments ended up being a key factor at Barcelona, referencing their consecutive Champions League quarterfinal exits, against Atlético Madrid in 2016 and Juventus in 2017.
A team that grew ‘bored of winning’
With Neymar’s arrival in 2014, the iconic trio began to take shape. In just four seasons together, the three stars combined for 364 goals and 173 assists, helping Barcelona win nine trophies before Neymar’s move to PSG. Still, Rakitić believes that, over time, the team lost some of its edge.
Looking for an explanation behind their “failure,” the Croatian offered an honest assessment: “Maybe it’s not the right word, but we got a bit ‘bored of winning,’ or not being hungry at 100%. I think finally, finishing this six years in Barcelona, it’s hard to say ‘only one Champions League’, but I think it could’ve been two or three quite easily.”
