Lionel Messi names the 10 favourite teammates of his career | OneFootball

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While he's the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi has been surrounded by some pretty incredible talent himself over the years.

The Argentine has played with some of football's best throughout his career, so picking his 10 favourite teammates can't have been easy.

Having played with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Thierry Henry and Gerard Piqué, there has to have been some tough competition for Messi's favourite ever teammates, but surprisingly none of those three made the cut.

He has revealed the top 10, though, recently in an interview with Titan Sports and the results are pretty eye-opening.

"I was lucky to play for a long time at Barcelona... with many of the best players," Messi said.

"Like Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto'o, Suarez, Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, [Sergio] Busquets, I was lucky enough to play with the best players and enjoy the game with them. Speaking of which, I almost forgot about Neymar because there are so many people.

"There must be many players I forgot to mention. I've been lucky enough to play with the best players, with the best strikers. Like Neymar, Eto'o, Suarez, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and [David] Villa and many more.

"I've been comfortable playing with all of them, or almost all of them, because I've been lucky enough to play with the best of them... playing with them is easy."

So, here are Messi's top 10 teammates - in no particular order.

Xavi

One of the greatest midfielders of all time, Xavi spent 17 seasons as a first-team regular at Barcelona, playing alongside Messi for the final 11.

The pair were influential members of one of the greatest teams in history as Pep Guardiola led the Spanish side to unprecedented levels of success. Known for his ability to find and exploit space in the middle of the park, there are very few players as effective as Xavi was during his prime, and it's no surprise that he made Messi's list of favourite players.

The Spaniard made over 500 appearances for Barcelona and has since returned to take charge of the club as the first-team manager, a true club legend.

Neymar

Playing alongside Messi for both Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar is an exceptional talent that spent six seasons playing with the Argentine between the two clubs.

Their chemistry on the pitch was undeniable, and it seems they were good friends off of it too. The duo made up 2/3 of one of the greatest attacking trios of all time, with Luis Suarez completing the team (more on him later). They were relentless together and their form as a unit was enough to give defenders nightmares. While it's surprising that their PSG teammate Mbappe didn't make the list, Neymar being named makes a tonne of sense.

Sergio Busquets

It makes sense that Sergio Busquets is included in Messi's list of his 10 favourite teammates, considering the midfielder has reunited with the 36-year-old in the States at Inter Miami this summer.

The duo played together at Barcelona for 13 seasons and had incredible success together. Following Messi's move to PSG in 2021, it seemed their time together had come to an end, but following his decision to head to MLS this summer, Busquets quickly followed suit, indicating their strong relationship.

Despite being in the twilight of their careers, both men still have plenty to offer and watching them take over MLS this year is going to be a joy to watch.

Luis Suarez

No matter how controversial a figure he is, there's no denying just how good a footballer Luis Suarez was, especially in his prime. After emerging as a world-beater at Liverpool, he joined Barcelona in 2014 and immediately forged a formidable relationship with Messi.

They spent six seasons playing alongside each other and no one could compete with them, with the pair scoring a combined total of 478 goals during that period, an absolutely absurd number.

Deco

Younger fans these days might not be aware of it, but during his prime, Deco was a serious talent and was certainly up there as one of the best midfielders in the world.

Following his move to Barcelona in 2004, the Portuguese midfielder's tenure at the club coincided with Messi's own emergence among the first team and the two quickly hit it off. Deco was known for his creative flair in the middle of the park and his ability to create chances for his teammates using his excellent ball control and vision made him an ideal teammate for just about anyone, so it's no surprise Messi loved playing with him so much.

Samuel Eto'o

Another player who arrived at Barcelona in the same season that Messi got his breakthrough into the first team, Samuel Eto'o was one of the best strikers in the world during his tenure at the club and while his time with the Argentine was limited, they certainly made the most of it.

They led the club's frontline together admirably over the course five seasons and scored a monumental 74 goals between them in their final year together before Eto'o left for Inter Milan. We'll never know the heights they could have gone on to reach together, but what we saw of them was more than enough for Messi to name the former Cameroon international as one of his 10 favourite teammates ever.

Andres Iniesta

If Messi wasn't on the scene, it feels safe to assume that Andres Iniesta would have gone down as Barcelona's greatest-ever player. He is certainly up there anyway, spending 16 years among the club's first team, with 674 appearances to his name.

His partnership with Xavi in the heart of the club's midfield is a thing of legend now, with the pair easily going down as one of the best duos ever. Playing behind Messi, Iniesta also built a strong relationship with the Argentine, and they were both influential in some major highs at Barcelona. It's a testament to how good the Spaniard continues to be that he's still plying his trade today for Vissel Kobe in Japan at 39 years old.

David Villa

While his time at Barcelona was short and sweet, David Villa made a huge impact at the club, and quite clearly on Messi as the Inter Miami man named the Spaniard in his list of 10 favourite teammates ever.

Villa was a key figure in what has largely been recognised as Barcelona's greatest-ever team, joining ahead of the 2010-11 season which saw the club go on to win a historic treble, including a Champions League triumph over Manchester United.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Considering how iconic Zlatan Ibrahimovic has become just as much for his personality and character as for his superb footballing ability, it's no surprise that the Swede did enough to land himself a spot in Messi's 10 favourite teammates ever, despite the fact they spent just one season together.

Zlatan had a solid year in Spain, scoring 21 goals to partner Messi's 47, but left the club on loan the next summer, joining AC Milan.

Ronaldinho

Before Messi became the best player in the world, many regarded his former teammate, Ronaldinho as the top dog. The Brazilian was electric at Barcelona, and there have been very few players in history that were quite as entertaining to watch.

There's obviously no way of knowing, but it feels safe to assume that Messi wouldn't have become the monumental superstar he is today if he didn't get to start his career under the tutelage of a great like Ronaldinho, so it's fitting that the former attacking midfielder made his list of favourite ever teammates.