MSN vs BBC: The ultimate statistical comparision
Over the course of football history, we have witnessed the mesmerizing performance of many attacking trios. Brazil’s magical trio of Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho or Manchester United's 'Holy Trinity' comprising of George Best, Bobby Charlton, and Dennis Law comes to mind when we think of trios that made an everlasting impact. However, all the previous trios which dominated the game are now made to look average or above average after Real Madrid and Barcelona put together two of the finest attacking trios the game has seen. We are lucky enough to witness two of the greatest players of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, battle each other while playing for two of the biggest rivals in the game, but the battle didn’t cease there as we now have the battle of MSN (Messi, Suare & Neymar) and BBC (Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo).
Back in 2009, when Real Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo, they also signed a promising French striker named Karim Benzema in the same transfer window. Although he was not a renowned face then, he is easily one of the best strikers right now. Four years later, in 2013, they broke the transfer record once again to sign Gareth Bale. With the acquisition of Bale, they had a fearsome trio consisting of three European superstars.
As for Barcelona, they always had world class players supporting Lionel Messi. Players like Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Alexis Sanchez, David Villa and Pedro Rodriguez were the notable names who played alongside the Argentine. However, his support cast changed to the main cast after the arrival of two South American superstars. Neymar Jr was the first to join in 2013 and a year later, Luis Suarez joined the Catalans to complete the trio.
Since the start of the 2014/15 season, both trios have outplayed and demolished almost every single defence they have faced, including each other’s and have also led their respective teams to several titles. This obviously has led to comparisons between the two trios and here we compare the statistics that have made these trios so fearsome. We start with a breakdown of the individual statistics of the players in each trio followed by comparisons between the MSN and BBC based on several parameters.
Note: To make the comparison fair, the statistics from 2014/15 season onwards have been taken into consideration.
MSN Individual breakdown
Barcelona’s fearsome trio consists of three superstars from South America. Lionel Messi of Argentina, Luis Suarez of Uruguay and Neymar Jr of Brazil. Despite the well-documented rivalry between these South American countries, the trio has blossomed at Barcelona. The incredible chemistry between the players and the selfless nature which they've shown have won them many admirers from across the globe. At the end of their first season together, they won the treble and there has been no looking back after that. A quick look at the individual statistics of these players suggests that they are getting better with each passing game.
Lionel Messi
| Competition ↓ | Season→ | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | Total |
| League | Games | 38 | 33 | 21 | 92 |
| Goals | 43 | 26 | 23 | 92 | |
| Assists | 18 | 16 | 7 | 31 | |
| Copa del Rey | Games | 6 | 5 | 6 | 17 |
| Goals | 5 | 5 | 4 | 14 | |
| Assists | 4 | 6 | - | 10 | |
| Champions League | Games | 13 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
| Goals | 10 | 6 | 11 | 27 | |
| Assists | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| Others | Games | - | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Goals | - | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
| Assists | - | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | Games | 57 | 49 | 36 | 142 |
| Goals | 58 | 41 | 49 | 148 | |
| Assists | 26 | 23 | 11 | 60 |
Others include matches played in Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup and Club World Cup
Luis Suarez
| Competition ↓ | Season→ | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | Total |
| League | Games | 27 | 35 | 23 | 85 |
| Goals | 16 | 40 | 20 | 76 | |
| Assists | 14 | 16 | 9 | 39 | |
| Copa del Rey | Games | 6 | 4 | 6 | 16 |
| Goals | 2 | 5 | 4 | 11 | |
| Assists | 4 | 1 | - | 5 | |
| Champions League | Games | 10 | 9 | 7 | 26 |
| Goals | 7 | 8 | 3 | 18 | |
| Assists | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | |
| Others | Games | - | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Goals | - | 6 | 1 | 7 | |
| Assists | - | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Total | Games | 43 | 53 | 37 | 133 |
| Goals | 25 | 59 | 28 | 112 | |
| Assists | 21 | 22 | 11 | 54 |
Others include matches played in Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup and Club World Cup
Neymar Jr
| Competition ↓ | Season→ | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | Total |
| League | Games | 33 | 34 | 22 | 89 |
| Goals | 22 | 24 | 8 | 54 | |
| Assists | 7 | 12 | 8 | 27 | |
| Copa del Rey | Games | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| Goals | 7 | 4 | 2 | 13 | |
| Assists | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Champions League | Games | 12 | 9 | 7 | 28 |
| Goals | 10 | 3 | 4 | 17 | |
| Assists | 0 | 4 | 8 | 12 | |
| Others | Games | - | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Goals | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Assists | - | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Total | Games | 51 | 49 | 34 | 134 |
| Goals | 39 | 31 | 14 | 74 | |
| Assists | 7 | 20 | 16 | 43 |
Others include matches played in Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup and Club World Cup