Luis Suarez reveals he felt like a 'donkey' playing alongside Neymar & Lionel Messi at Barcelona

The trio went on to win a treble at the club.

Luis Suarez has given an explanation for why playing with Lionel Messi and Neymar at Barcelona made him feel like a “donkey”.

After a successful stint with Premier League powerhouse Liverpool, the Uruguayan striker went to Camp Nou in the summer of 2014 and quickly established himself alongside other South Americans in a star-studded lineup.

Barca already had Lionel Messi and Neymar on their books at that time, and after Luis Suarez joined them in Catalunya, they formed the legendary “MSN” strike force. Together, they had a great deal of success, taking home both LaLiga and Champions League crowns.

Suarez contributed by scoring 198 goals in 283 games for Barcelona, but he acknowledges that when he initially wore the No. 9 jersey with the Spanish powerhouses, he did not feel totally at ease playing alongside the other legendary forwards.

RIGHT IN THE CHILDHOOD!🥹⚽️Neymar jumped on the Japanese animation trend, posting this pic from his Barcelona days with the legendary MSN trio!✨#neymar #neyjr #neymarjr #fcbarcelona #msn #messi #suarez pic.twitter.com/xWkU9iXrIn

— MARCA in English 🇺🇸 (@MARCAinENGLISH) March 28, 2025

Argentine content producer Davoo Xeneize held an interview with Suarez, who said: “At the beginning, we were three players with different characteristics where the donkey, me, was in the middle. I used to say to myself: ‘Where do I put myself so I don’t get in the way?’

“Of course, I would look to my side and see Leo. I looked to the other side and there was Neymar. In the back, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets. I learned to move in my space, in my rectangle. The truth is that we understood each other in a way that was admirable.”

He enjoyed a glittering career at Barcelona and lifted every trophy possible with the club. However, the former Liverpool & Ajax striker was pushed to leave the club as the Catalan side thought he was way past his prime, and the Uruguayan joined Atletico Madrid, where he inspired them to the LaLiga title.

He recently reunited with Messi at MLS side Inter Miami, with the pair aiming for more trophies together in 2025 – in what could be Suarez’s penultimate season at 38 years of age.

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