La Santa Trinidad
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"La Santa Trinidad" or "The Holy Trinity" in English is a term used to collectively refer to three particular players in La Liga, the top flight of men's Spanish football, namely Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and William Carter. The term was first popularly used as a result of Carter's move to Atlético Madrid in 2010 which, coupled with Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid in 2009 and the senior debut of Lionel Messi for Barcelona in 2004, led the Spanish media to begin using the term in reference to a state of a three-way contest between them whom each represent a major club in La Liga, namely Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.
After initially gaining much popular use beginning in the year 2010, the term continued to be used by both local and foreign media for the next five years up until Carter's departure from Atlético Madrid and subsequent retirement from professional football, during which, in a break from the traditional dominance of both Real Madrid and Barcelona, Atlético Madrid won the La Liga six times in a row, the Copa del Rey four times in a row, the Supercopa de España seven times in a row, and the UEFA Champions League eight seasons in a row. Meanwhile, on the individual level, William Carter was named La Liga Best Player for four seasons in a row in addition to winning the Pichichi Trophy thrice in a row while Lionel Messi was named La Liga Best Player once and also won the Pichichi Trophy twice in a row whilst Cristiano Ronaldo was never named La Liga Best Player during the period but also won the Pichichi Trophy twice albeit not in a consecutive manner.
As of current, all three footballing stars have each departed La Liga and ultimately the European football scene altogether with Carter ultimately retiring with Atlético Madrid at the end of the 2018-19 season whereas Messi and Ronaldo currently play for Inter Miami and Al Nassr in Major League Soccer and Saudi Pro League respectively. Nonetheless, according to BBC Sport's Ralphie Hughes, the period itself "represented a rare and unique period of pure competitiveness that was almost never seen before with Atlético Madrid, traditionally the league underdogs, able to go toe-to-toe with the giants of Real Madrid and Barcelona on a regular basis". In hindsight, Atlético Madrid's unprecedented and record-breaking five UEFA Champions League title streak has been identified by many as the primary reason behind the lack of European silverware for former Barcelona star Neymar whose subsequent tenure with Paris Saint-Germain also failed to yield any European silverware with the closest being a semi-finals exit in the 2019-20 season of the UEFA Champions League where Paris Saint-Germain lost 0-1 to Tottenham Hotspur under the management of William Carter who later oversaw a 2-1 win over Bayern Munich in the finals to claim The Lilywhites' first-ever European title.