06 March 2023 , 08:05
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Neymar's former team-mate Luis Suarez has insisted the time the pair spent together at Barcelona is "proof" a team can accommodate three big-name forwards at the same time.
Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi won the treble together during the Uruguayan's first season at Camp Nou. The Champions League triumph of 2015, with Suarez and Neymar both on target in the final, remains the most recent time the Catalan club have won the competition.
Neymar and Messi were reunited at club level in 2021, with the pair part of a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain front-line along with Kylian Mbappe. However, things haven't always been rosy at the Ligue 1 side despite Mbappe becoming PSG's all-time record scorer over the weekend.
"For us, Messi was the best in the world and for me Neymar was the second best, but they helped me to win the Golden Boot. I will always be grateful," Suarez told Brazilian outlet Placar.
"It's further proof that three stars together can play on the same team with the aim of winning for the team, not individually. And I think that was what made us better and good companions."
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Suarez joined Barcelona from Liverpool in 2014 in a £75m move, having finished joint-top of the European Golden Shoe standings in his final season at Anfield. He would go on to win the award outright in the 2015-16 season, scoring 40 league goals for Barca and 59 in all competitions.
Can Neymar, Messi and Mbappe win the Champions League together? Have your say in the comments section
Neymar's relationship with Kylian Mbappe has come under scrutiny (AFP via Getty Images)PSG won Ligue 1 in Messi's first season with the club, but fell in the last 16 of the Champions League. A repeat is on the cards this term despite Christophe Galtier replacing Mauricio Pochettino in the dugout, with the French side needing to do what no side has done this season to stay in Europe - win away at Bayern Munich.
There have been plenty of reports about the difficult relationship between the front three this term, including in August when team-mate Sergio Ramos was reportedly forced to step in to separate Neymar and Mbappe over a penalty controversy. Earlier supports had suggested Messi and Mbappe were at odds over Neymar, who was linked with a summer exit.
Mbappe also made comments after the first-leg defeat to Bayern which appeared to be a dig at Neymar. Specifically, his words about eating and sleeping well came after reports of late-night parties at the Brazilian's home.
"Our players have to be in good health for the return leg, everyone needs to eat and sleep well," Mbappe said. They’re not comfortable when we play attacking football.”
PSG lost 1-0 at home to Bayern, with their former player Kingsley Coman finding the net. However, they go into the return leg off the back of three straight victories in Ligue 1, with Mbappe scoring five times during the run.