5 top attackers who suffered due to Lionel Messi's presence at Barcelona
Lionel Messi's time at Barcelona was nothing short of incredible. The Argentine led the Catalan giants into their brightest era, helping them claim a whopping 35 trophies. He also recorded an unbelievable 672 goals and 303 assists to his name in 778 games during his spell at Camp Nou.
Beyond trophies and accolades, what makes Lionel Messi stand out is his ability to bring the best out of his teammates. The Argentine's formidable partnership with Neymar and Luis Suarez in Barcelona's attack is still being talked about. Likewise, his thriving connection with the likes of Samuel Eto'o, Pedro, and David Villa has also become part of his legend.
While the aforementioned players all thrived alongside the Argentine upfront, it's worth noting that there are others who didn't. That has inspired us to come up with a list of five top attackers who suffered due to Lionel Messi's presence at Barcelona. They are listed below.
#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The Swede looked destined to reach unbelievable heights when he left Inter Milan to join Barcelona in 2009 for an astonishing transfer fee of ะ66 million. Unfortunately, competition between him and Lionel Messi for the centre-forward role led to what was the end of his highly promising career at Camp Nou.
The 40-year-old later explained in his biography, as quoted by the Daily Mail, how he was affected by the towering presence of Messi.
"It was a childhood dream and I was walking on air. It started well but then Messi started to talk. He wanted to play in the middle, not on the wing, so the system changed from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1. I was sacrificed and no longer had the freedom on the pitch I need to succeed."
sportbible.com/football/news-โฆZlatan Ibrahimovic lasted just one season at Barcelona, and it may be down to Lionel Messi... ๐
Pep must have sh*t himself when he opened his phone to the message! ๐ sportbible.com/football/news-โฆ
Zlatan Ibrahimovic ended up spending just one year at Barcelona, recording 22 goals and 13 assists in 46 games. He eventually joined AC Milan on an initial loan deal that was later made permanent for โฌ24 million, in the summer of 2011.
#4 Alexis Sanchez
Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez is another top attacker who failed to break through at Barcelona, partly due to Lionel Messi's presence. The winger joined Barcelona from Serie A outfit Udinese in the summer of 2011 for a reported fee of โฌ26 million.
Alexis Sanchez in this stacked Barcelona squad ๐ฅ https://t.co/cYPxO0TxHA
Despite showing some promising signs, Sanchez remained under the Argentine's shadow at Camp Nou before deciding to part ways with the club. He was sold to Arsenal for โฌ42 million in the summer of 2014 after bagging 46 goals and 37 assists for the Blaugrana in 141 matches, across three years.