Liverpool legend John Barnes reckons Neymar ‘outperformed both Messi and Ronaldo’ last season and urged the Brazilian to continue doing so.
Neymar had his best season to date for Paris Saint-Germain and showed flashes of the player the club paid a world record €222m three years ago.
The 28-year-old, who spent the bulk of his first two seasons in Paris injured, became a forlorn figure inside the PSG camp as young Kylian Mbappe instead took center-stage in the city of light.
It led to talk of a return to Barcelona last summer, only for the move to fall through. However, Neymar bounced back and won over the PSG supporters with some sublime displays.
The former Santos star was pivotal in the Parisians’ passage to their first-ever Champions League final, despite failing to score again past the last-16 stage. He also helped secure a domestic quadruple.
But while Ney couldn’t prevent Bayern Munich from snatching away a first European title for PSG, Barnes believes he did enough to outshine Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time.
The former winger also believes Kevin De Bruyne and Virgil van Dijk outperformed the iconic duo.
“Over the last 10 years, Neymar has been the third-best player in the world after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi,” Barnes told Bonuscodebets.
“However, he (Neymar) Kevin De Bruyne and Virgil van Dijk, have all played better than both of them this season. I’m not saying that Neymar has been better than Ronaldo and Messi over the last 10 years.
“I got stick on Twitter for saying a similar thing about Alphonso Davies, I said he’s the world’s best left-back, with Andrew Robertson in second. I’m talking about this season, not over a longer period.
“Neymar may not have won the Champions League, but he’s one of the best players in the world and this season he’s outperformed both Messi and Ronaldo. Nevertheless, he’d need to continue this form for another 9 years to be considered in the same category as them.”
On Neymar’s failure to win the Champions League, Barnes added: “If you’re the best player in the world but happen to stay at a club that prevents you from entering a particular championship, you’re still the best player in the world.
“It would be good for Neymar if he can win the Champions League, but it won’t take away from anything he’s already achieved if he doesn’t.”
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