The past was always better. That seems to sum up Pelé’s vision of modern soccer. He said that nowadays he would be a much better player than he was in his day because there is more preparation and care for footballers.

In a recent interview with Marca, Brazilian icon Ronaldinho reflected on Neymar's role with the Brazil National Team and concluded, "Without doubt, Neymar is already my heir."

"He is performing in that role and he has been for many years," Ronaldinho said. "He is a great player and he will be the face of Brazil for plenty of seasons to come."

Luis Enrique stands on the touchline and watches FC Barcelona’s tremendous troika of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar (MSN) nearly every day in matches and in training.

And yet, the Blaugrana boss remains amazed at what the trio can accomplish when they are at their best. 

“They are the best in the world,” Enrique told the press recently. “They have a great understanding and when they don’t all score [in a match] they’re not happy.”

Neymar is simply stunning to watch play. He is everything that we hope a Brazilian superstar would be: creative, unpredictable, lightning on the pitch. He was just ranked as the third-best footballer in the world by The Guardian because he marries these qualities with effectiveness. It’s ironic then, that arguably Neymar’s best play of the year wound up ineffective. 

It’s been fascinating to see Neymar grow as a player. Once a teenager in Brazil that was capable of pulling off ridiculous goals against subpar competition, he is now a young man in Spain playing for Barcelona, pulling off even more ridiculous goals against world-class defenders. But for all of the success he has on the pitch, he is still humble, and that is what Neymar’s new tattoo reinforces. 

Barcelona have perhaps the greatest forward line ever assembled, but for how much longer?

According to The Sun (so take this information with however many grains of salt you feel are appropriate), Barcelona's wage bill is 73 percent of its total revenue.

The Sun also reported that Barca are planning a £423 million renovation of the Camp Nou.

Since Lionel Messi went down with an injury in September (he's back now), Neymar has been a miracle worker. 

He performed one more miracle Monday, but not for Barcelona. The 23-year-old was selected as one of the final three players competing to win the 2015 Ballon d'Or, and his selection made a big difference for his hometown club in Brazil, Santos.

The 2015 Ballon d'Or finalists have been announced, and the three chosen come as a surprise to approximately nobody.

The nominees, in case you live in a hole, or under a rock, or in a hole located under a rock, are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr.

A much more interesting question than who would get nominated (we guess Luis Suarez had an outside chance at Neymar's third spot, but come on) is who will win. Will Lionel Messi receive his fourth, Ronaldo his third or Neymar his first? We break it down.

Neymar's astounding string of performances has managed to get him in the mix to be one of the top players in the world. Nonetheless, off-the-field issues keep the superstar's future very murky.