I can be better than Lionel Messi: - Santos Forward Neymar

Posted Saturday, August 13, 2011 by Faniq

Brazilian youngster Neymar has claimed that he has what it takes to be better than Lionel Messi, should he be given the right team to play in.

Neymar has been one of the most highly rated Brazilians in recent history and has been linked to some of the Europe’s biggest clubs. These include the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea and even Barcelona. Both the Spanish clubs have come close to signing the teenage prodigy, but nothing concrete has been confirmed.

Neymar has shown extreme amounts of talent at such a young age and has already been acclaimed from the likes of Ricado Kaka and perhaps the best player in history, Pele. Neymar however is well aware of his talents and needs no one to tell him how good he really is.

Neymar has gone on record to claim that he has what it takes to match, if not better, what Messi has achieved with Barcelona. Messi is currently a two time consecutive World Player of the Year at the age of 23 and shows no signs of slowing down. The player managed to score 53 goals in 55 appearances for Barcelona last season and is en-route of becoming the FIFPro World Player of the Year for the third consecutive time. The player has won every available accolade at club level but has yet to prove himself while wearing the International colours.

''I can be as big as him, or even better. I'm sure of it," claimed Neymar.

These are some bold comments for a player who is yet to test himself among the true greats in football. Europe is known for attracting all the top player from around the World and the club football in Europe is considered to be the best. Neymar would have to play in Europe to really match his claims, and become as good as Lionel Messi.

Neymar does have a lot of time to prove his claim, as the player is just 19 years of age. However, it would require Neymar to secure a move to a big European club and test his talent in the UEFA Champions League to become a true great.

When asked about his future and how long he would stay with Santos, he replied,

''I'm not talking about the future. I'm only focused on the national team and Santos, and then we'll see what happens. It is not an issue I need to worry or talk about.''

Neymar should seriously consider moving to Real Madrid and bettering Messi at his own playing field. He would gain some tough competition from within Real, as the currently the second best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, has set his eyes on ending Messi’s reign as the World’s best. All eyes would be on Neymar come the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, as many compare him to Pele. Should he be the factor that would help Brazil gain the World Cup, he would surely be better than Messi in the international fold.