Top 5 attacking trios of all time 

FC Barcelona v Villarreal CF - La Liga
FC Barcelona v Villarreal CF - La Liga

4. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale

Benzema, Ronaldo and Bale with the Champions League trophy
Benzema, Ronaldo and Bale with the Champions League trophy

The famous BBC trident got together under Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid in 2013-14. They played together until Ronaldo's departure to Juventus at the end of the 2017-18 season.

In that period, they scored 442 goals for the club while delivering 4 Champions League titles in 5 years; Ronaldo - 249, Benzema - 105, Bale - 88. A hat-trick of Champions League titles was unprecedented since no club had even defended the Champions League/European Cup since AC Milan did it in 1990.

Ronaldo was the main man as he plundered goals for Los Blancos, equalling Messi's tally of 5 Ballon d'Or awards in the process. He evolved from being a world-class winger to an elite finisher who couldn't stop scoring. Bale was vital in the Champions League wins in 2014 and 2018 with key goals against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool respectively. Benzema, similar to Firmino currently, played the role of the facilitator brilliantly. His playing style complemented Ronaldo's and Bale's perfectly as they won countless accolades together.

While their trophy haul is unheard of, Bale's fitness issues prevented him from being a consistent presence in the playing XI in their four years together. They may have been higher up in the list had we seen what they were truly capable of.

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Edited by Vishal Subramanian
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