Come fly with me? Barcelona trio share cosy lift before qualification clash

Travel buddies Neymar, Messi and Mascherano enjoy snap on private jet back to South America for key qualification clash

The trio will face off against each other on Thursday night in Belo Horizonte (Twitter/@edmacieldesa)

Barcelona stars Neymar, Javier Mascherano and Lionel Messi have taken some spice out of their upcoming World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina after sharing a lift to South America in a private jet.

The rivalry has historically been billed as one of the most ferocious in International football but the Barcelona trio couldn’t have looked friendlier in a picture released by the plane’s pilot.

Neymar invited Messi and Mascherano to hitch a lift back to their home continent on his private jet after the triumvirate enjoyed an impressive 2-1 victory over Sevilla on Sunday.

The trio share a laugh with their pilots on Neymar's private jet (Twitter/@edmacieldesa)

And, it looks as if the bromance is set to continue after Neymar and Mascherano both recently agreed new deals to extend their stay at the Nou Camp, while Messi is expected to commit his future to the club within the coming months, according to club president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

But, the Argentina pair will need be all business on Thursday as they attempt to put themselves within touching distance of their rivals, who currently sit five points ahead of them ten games into their World Cup qualification campaign.

Argentina have failed to win in their last three qualification games and sit in fifth in the table after their 1-0 defeat to Paraguay and draws against Venezuela and Peru.

Brazil, on the other hand, have won four consecutive games in qualifying and could heap further misery on Argentina with a chance to stretch their lead at the summit of their qualification group.

The game will also give Brazil the chance to end the curse of Belo Horizonte as they return to the stadium for the first time since their humiliating 7-1 World Cup semi-final defeat to Germany in 2014.