Would a Barcelona treble be Lionel Messi’s greatest achievement?

For all the incredible accolades the greatest player in football history has achieved, leading this imperfect Barcelona team to a treble could be Lionel Messi‘s greatest triumph.

Lionel Messi stood before 99,354 Barcelona supporters at the Camp Nou before a 3-0 preseason victory in the Joan Gamper Trophy against Boca Juniors and made a bold declaration. In his first season as club captain, with legends Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández, Carles Puyol, and Pep Guardiola in the rear-view mirror, the Argentinian promised that the Blaugrana would reclaim Europe’s premier trophy after a three-year spell of dominance by rivals Real Madrid.

"“Last season was really good as we did the double, but we all felt bad about how it went in the Champions League,” Messi said. “We promise that this season we will do all we can to bring that beautiful trophy back to the Camp Nou.”"

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While Barcelona is undoubtedly a spectacular side with some incredible talent, the 2018-19 iteration is far from a perfect team. With serious doubts over manager Ernesto Valverde and Philippe Coutinho, the extended absence of Samuel Umtiti in a somewhat shaky defence and a hot-and-cold season from Luis Suárez, this Barcelona side pales in comparison to their two treble-winning sides of the last decade.

The 2008-09 team was one of the best sides in club football history, with Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry combining with the likes of Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta to form one of the most star-studded teams ever assembled. The 2014-15 team represented the peak of the so-called “MSN” era, as Messi, Suárez, and Neymar became arguably the most deadly attacking trident in the sport’s history, scoring 364 goals and racking up 173 assists across 450 appearances from 2014-2017.

Therefore, this Barcelona team does not have the typical features of a treble-winning side, but the greatness of Messi has propelled them to the brink of an inevitable tenth La Liga title during his time at the club, a Copa del Rey final against Valencia, and their first Champions League semi-final since 2015. The Argentinian has been incredible this season even by his own lofty standards, with 45 goals and 22 assists across just 44 games and looks poised to claim a record-setting sixth Ballon D’Or as he chases his fifth Champions League trophy.

This Barcelona side had not been talked about in a treble discussion for much of the season with talk of an unprecedented potential quadruple for Guardiola’s Manchester City. Following the Citizens’ quarterfinal elimination at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, however, the Blaugrana appears ready to assume the role of favourites heading into their tie against Liverpool.

Messi has achieved incredible heights throughout his career to establish himself as arguably the greatest footballer of all time, including scoring a record 91 goals in a calendar year, winning a club-record 32 trophies at Barcelona, becoming the club’s all-time top goalscorer and the winningest player in La Liga history. Nonetheless, leading this imperfect Barcelona to glory could be perhaps his greatest achievement given the situation.

It will be a challenging task; with two legs against an in-form Liverpool side seeking redemption for their loss in last season’s Champions League final to Real Madrid and a Copa del Rey final against an inspired Valencia on the horizon, a third Catalan treble is far from a formality. But with Lionel Messi on the pitch, Barcelona can also know that nothing is impossible.