The modern game may be built on pressing systems and fluid positional play, but nothing captures the imagination quite like an electric attacking duo. Since 2010, some of football’s greatest moments have come from two players operating in perfect harmony — whether through relentless goal-scoring, telepathic link-up play, or pure charisma.
This list ranks the top 10 attacking duos of the post-2010 era based on on-pitch chemistry, stats, trophy haul, and lasting fan impact. From dazzling wing pairs to classic No. 9–No. 10 combos, these duos defined a decade of football.
#10. Romelu Lukaku & Kevin De Bruyne – Belgium
Stats & Achievements:
- 100+ international goals between them
- Semifinalists at World Cup 2018
- Euro 2020 quarterfinalists
Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne might not jump out to you as an elite duo at first glance, but when you go back and watch Belgium during the 2010s or recall watching them, you begin to realize that their synergy was a core tenant of the country’s success at the international stage, just as much as Eden Hazard’s brilliance on the wings.
De Bruyne was the smartest attacking midfielder in the world during that time with his ability to see passes that nobody else – not even his Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola – and he has become regarded as one of the best Premier League midfielders of all time because of it.
Lukaku doesn’t have as many admirers around the world as KDB, but that’s led his own legacy to become shrouded in opinion. Amadou Onana, Thierry Henry, and so many others who have worked with Lukaku have praised the big striker for his intelligence and movement off the ball.
Together, KDB and Lukaku were dynamite at the World Cup stage, and their ability to destroy teams on the counterattack with KDB’s vision and Lukaku’s runs off the ball changed games.
Belgium’s Golden Generation is viewed too negatively by opportunistic fans who like to meme things out of negativity, because, in reality, this group was a success to have gotten Belgium to this level of competition – and Lukaku and KDB should be praised accordingly.
#9. Marco Reus & Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Borussia Dortmund
Stats & Achievements:
- 90+ combined goal contributions in 2 peak seasons (2015–17)
- DFB-Pokal winners (2017)
Clad in Batman and Robin masks, among other creative goal celebrations, Borussia Dortmund playmaker Marco Reus and young striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were the best of friends on and off the pitch, though Auba’s public and rather distasteful push to leave Dortmund for a big move to Arsenal (technically a step down competition-wise) put an end to their professional relationship prematurely.
But for a couple of golden years, Bundesliga fans and wider audiences were treated to a spectacle when Aubameyang’s blazing speed and cheeky finishing were paired with one of the greatest players in the history of the modern Bundesliga.
Although Bayern Munich’s unrivaled dominance prevented Dortmund from winning more than a singular Pokal with Auba and Reus together, it is remarkable in and of itself that they reached four Finals together in that competition.
#8. Lautaro Martínez & Romelu Lukaku – Inter Milan
Stats & Achievements:
- Serie A title (2020–21)
- 80+ goals between them in two seasons
- UCL finalists in 2023/24
Romelu Lukaku shows up on this list for a second time, as he and Lautaro Martinez brought back an old tactical favorite in 2020/21 under new Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte, who enhanced his reputation further and cemented himself as the most dominant Italian manager of the modern era by bringing the Scudetto back to Inter Milan after a decade.
And it was Lukaku who was the centerpiece of that effort, winning Serie A MVP honors as Inter played a two-striker system, with teams around Europe then trying to copy the synergy that the Belgian and Argentinian internationals built together.
Lautaro was the young bull charging at defenders while Lukaku was the wily veteran, holding up play and making runs and passes like a coach on the field, showing a side to his game that had always existed by had never been unlocked in the Premier League.
A return to Chelsea failed, and while Lukaku’s second run with Inter is meme’d unfairly for a few high-profile misses in the Champions League Final, without the Belgian marksman, Inter would not have made it all the way there anyway.
#7. Luis Suárez & Edinson Cavani – Uruguay
Stats & Achievements:
- Over 100 international goals between them
- Copa América champions (2011)
- Reached 2010 World Cup semifinals and 2018 World Cup quarterfinals
Uruguay are a nation used to punching above their weight in international football, but they made a name for themselves as a country to more football fans in the 2010s, and while Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani were far from the only notable players on the team (Diego Forlan, after all, was the star of the show in 2010), these two were the most consistent lynchpin for Uruguay over the decade.
Cavani first set Suarez up with a goal in the group stages in 2010 in South Africa, and while that tournament was more about the striker partnership between Forlan and the more controversial Ajax forward, the long-haired ace was a real asset to the surprise semifinalists.
A year later, he would win Copa America, playing a role in the Final victory over Paraguay. And then seven years later, he would be the country’s best player at the 2018 World Cup with three goals after leading all qualifiers in South America with 10 goals.
An injured Cavani never got to play against eventual winners France as Uruguay were eliminated in the quarterfinals, but he made his mark in the tournament. He and Suarez had their peak contributions for Uruguay at very different points in the decade, but, together, they were exceptional, especially in years outside the World Cup where their contrasting and enmeshed playing styles of finesse and power were too much to handle for the other countries in South America.
#6. Harry Kane & Son Heung-min – Tottenham Hotspur
Stats & Achievements:
- 48 goal combinations (Premier League record)
- UCL finalists (2018–19)
It’s a shame Harry Kane and Son Heung-min never got to win a Champions League or Premier League title together, but they were agonizingly close to winning both, which is more than can be said for any other duo in the history of the Tottenham.
Although Kane was injured and Son was the main one responsible for Tottenham’s berth to the Champions League Final against Liverpool in 2019, Kane did still smash 17 goals in an off season.
Both Son and Kane were adept at scoring goals and creating chances, and while the striker was actually the more creative of the two, they both played their roles well with Kane being the more technical one and Son the pacier.
Under Jose Mourinho, the duo also came close to winning silverware with a bid in the League Cup Final, and while Mou’s time in Tottenham wasn’t exactly fruitful, he got the most out of the attacking duo with Son blossoming further as a goal-scorer and Kane even reaching 14 assists in the 2020/21 campaign to set a career high by around 10.
#5. Kylian Mbappé & Neymar – PSG
Stats & Achievements:
- 200+ combined G/A at PSG
- 5 Ligue 1 titles
- UCL finalists (2020)
The narrative around Kylian Mbappe and Neymar as a partnership is a negative one, but blame that on inflated expectations and the brutality by which punditry operates, especially in the United States and United Kingdom where great talents like these two are often appreciated the least.
Neymar was no failure at PSG despite a record-breaking 222 million euro price tag, because, without him, PSG would have likely dropped a lot more Ligue 1 titles, and they certainly wouldn’t have reached the Champions League Final in 2020 without the Brazilian’s brilliant playmaking in one of the most historically underrated Champions League campaigns of all time.
Mbappe wasn’t bad either, and while he was obviously the weaker of the two – despite what a few biased French journalists may try to sell you – and flubbed away the Final against Bayern Munich with some ghastly misses of Neymar shots, the fact is that these two accomplished a lot together and dominated French football.
There wasn’t a more fun duo to tune into week in and week out, and had Mbappe been more mature and played more for the team, which is still a problem in 2025 at Real Madrid that now everyone knows about, perhaps they would have won a Champions League trophy or two.
#4. Cristiano Ronaldo & Karim Benzema – Real Madrid
Stats & Achievements:
- 4 Champions League titles (2014, 2016–18)
- Benzema assisted Ronaldo 47 times
- 2 La Liga titles together
Gareth Bale was obviously the missing piece to make the BBC trio and lift Real Madrid out of the doldrums of Champions League purgatory to a record four-time champions in five seasons, but Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo were the original two players Florentino Perez picked out in 2009 to build a new dynasty of Galacticos as part of a more sustainable sporting and commercial project in his second stint as president.
Well, Florentino hit two generational home runs, but there was a time when many fickle Madridistas doubted him, particularly Benzema. They wanted Benz replaced for Robert Lewandowski, and while the opportunity to sign the big Pole for free did come up, Florentino and even Cristiano stepped in to prevent the gluel guy from leaving the Real Madrid attack.
As everyone saw in 2021/22, Benzema was more than capable of being the best player in the world in his own right, spearheading three historic Remontadas en route to a Champions League and LaLiga double – and one of the easiest Ballon d’Or victories over Lionel Messi possible.
But during their time together in Real Madrid, Benzema was the one pressing, taking defenders on, drifting out wide, dropping deep, and even playmaking to help make life easier for Cristiano and prolong the greatest goal-scorer of all time‘s peak.
#3. Arjen Robben & Franck Ribéry – Bayern Munich
Stats & Achievements:
- 1 Champions League (2012–13)
- 8 Bundesliga titles together
- 160+ combined G/A
- 247 games played as a duo
Known as “Robbery”, their exits from Bayern Munich in 2019 very much marked the end of an era, because when Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben were together, Bayern had a top-five player in the world on either flank and an X-Factor that no other team in European football could match.
The fact that they won a Champions League title and were among the favorites every year during a time in football history when Real Madrid and Barcelona had generationally great teams and players built around Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Karim Benzema, and still more is a testatement to the squad quality the Bundesliga giants had.
Bayern Munich were a near-lock to win the Bundesliga every season despite Dortmund being Champions League contenders in their own right during the first stanza of the 2010s, and while the overall squad was indeed great, there is no question to anyone who observed Bayern during this time that the best part of the team was down the flanks.
Ribery was the creator extraordinaire with his untouchable dribbling skills and endless motor, while Robben was the killer cutting inside from the backdoor, quietly stealthing as Ribery dragged out the defense before getting the ball and whipping it into the far corner of the net. Nobody could stop them.
#2. Lionel Messi & Neymar – Barcelona
Stats & Achievements:
- 56 assists between them at Barça
- UCL champions (2014–15)
- 2 La Liga titles, 3 Copas del Rey
Technically, the Barcelona MSN trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar could be placed into one group as a trio that ranks as the greatest of all time -or in a very heated debate with Real Madrid’s BBC trio – but Messi’s relationship with each player individually was so unique and so fruitful that Neymar and Suarez, like Messi, also merit being on this list of top 10 duos twice.
Neymar and Messi eventually broke up as a tandem after Messi got more praise for the Remontada than Neymar, the real leader of the miraculous 6-1 comeback victory in the Champions League over his future employers PSG, but their short-lived era created some of the greatest highlights ever given to the footballing world.
Messi is obviously Messi, but Neymar was arguably more exciting to watch as a bundle of joy and flair who was willing and able to do the work of holding width and taking on defenders, giving Messi even more space to operate behind the striker Suarez.
There was an infectious happiness these two shared, as Messi finally met someone even more skilled than him and nearly as good overall. Nearly. Neymar was like his big little brother, and the soreness of the Brazilian’s decision to leave for France has always haunted both him and the Barcelona fans. Who knows how the landscape of football would have changed and who knows how many Champions League titles Real Madrid and Barcelona would have won if Ney never left?
#1. Lionel Messi & Luis Suárez – Barcelona
Stats & Achievements:
- 100+ assists between them
- 4 La Ligas, 1 Champions League, Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup
- Central to the MSN attack that scored 131 goals in 2015
If Neymar and Messi shared a special bond and were fun to watch, then the partnership between Lionel Messi and Luis Saurez was twice as fruitful and impactful, still existing today in MLS even as Suarez is less than a shell of his former self.
The best striker in the world at his peak, Suarez was more than just a goal-scorer, too, as he did a lot to put Messi in positions where he could continue to break records as a scorer and make a difference in his own way as a left-footer. In fact, Messi had more room and freedom because of the hard work Suarez always did off the ball.
Although their peak was the treble season in 2014/15 with Neymar in the picture, the real proof for why Suarez and Messi were the best duo was how consistently they competed for titles and dominated LaLiga at a time when they were competing against the BBC trio; Real Madrid were three-peat Champions League winners, yet Barca were the better team in LaLiga during that period.
Messi and Suarez as a duo were one of the most statistically prolific tandems ever from a goal-scoring and assist-providing perspective, with Suarez even netting 68 assists in his 6 seasons as a striker at Barcelona, speaking to the unselfish and telepathic connection that existed between the GOAT and his GOATest attacking partner of them all.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.