The 15/16 iteration of Barcelona could go down as the best attacking side of all time; the 14/15 version arguably already has. This is because the front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar Jr. has been nothing short of unstoppable when they have all shared the pitch. While the three are known to get along quite well, we are going to pit them against one another. Specifically we are going to look at Messi vs. Neymar.
The future of Barcelona resides with Neymar. He is 23 years old, five years younger than Messi and Suarez. Because of this we are going to to focus on Neymar in this edition of "Messi vs."
Neymar is going to have a hard time dethroning the best player in the world, but as you will see below, he has already out stripped Messi in several areas. As Messi get older and Neymar gets better, it might not be too long before we start calling Neymar the clear cut leader of Messi vs Neymar.
Messi vs Neymar: The Basics
Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr, as juniors. Photo: @emanleomessi | @ElDonIniesta || Twitter
Age: 28
Birth: in Rosario, Argentina on June 24, 1987
Height: 1.6m, 5’ 7”
Foot: Left
Age: 23
Birth: Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil
Height: 1.7m, 5’ 8”
Foot: Both
Messi vs Neymar: Professionally
Photo: @goal_intl | Twitter
Production (as of 11/4/2015)
Messi: 492 appearances, 39,070 total minutes, 418 goals, 191 assists, 45 yellow cards, 93 minutes per goal
Neymar: 238 appearances, 18,449 total minutes, 133 goals, 73 assists, 63 yellow cards, 2 2nd yellow cards, 1 red card, 11 penalties, 139 minutes per goal
Team Trophies
Messi: 25 (7 La Liga, 6 Spanish Supercup, 4 Champions League, 3 Copa del Rey, 3 UEFA Supercup, 2 FIFA Club World Cup)
Neymar: 8 (1 South American Supercup, 1 Copa Libertadores, 1 Copa do Brasil, 1 Champions League, 1 La Liga, 1 Copa Del Rey, 1 Spanish Supercup, 1 Confederations Cup)
Individual Accolades
Messi: 113 (including 4 Ballon d’Or, 8 FIFA FIFPro World XI, 6 UEFA Team of the Year, 3 Pichichi Trophies, 3 European Golden Shoes)
Neymar: 28 (including Copa Libertadores MVP, Copa Libertadores top scorer, FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot, South American Footballer of the Year, Champions League top scorer, Champions League Team of the Season)
Greatest Single Season
Messi: 14/15 season in which he won La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Champions League; 58 goals and 31 assists in 57 games.
Honorable Mention: His 91 goal calendar year of 2012. However, won only one major trophy in that time: 11/12 Copa del Rey.
Neymar: 14/15 season in which he won La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Champions League; 39 goals and 11 assists in 51 games.
Messi vs Neymar: Financially
Photo: @adidasfootball | Twitter
Salary
Messi: €47.1 Million ($51.8 Million)
Neymar: €12.9 Million ($14 Million
Net Worth
Messi: €188 million ($210 million)
Neymar: €135 Million ($146.7 Million)
Sponsorships
Messi: Adidas, EA Sports, Ooredoo, Samsung, Lay's, Audermars Piguet, Gillette, Dolce & Gabbana, Head & Shoulders, Gatorade and Pan Bimbo
Neymar: Nike, Panasonic, Claro, Tenys-Pé, Lupo, Guaraná Antarctica, Unilever, Volkswagen, Santander, Red Bull, PokerStars Heliar and Palpiteros
Messi vs Neymar: Socially
Photo: @neymarjr | Twitter
Social Media
Neymar: 53,912,814 Likes on Facebook, 20.2M Twitter Followers, 34.3M Followers; 108,412,814 Total
Messi: 80,967,186 Likes on Facebook, No Twitter account, 27.7M Instagram Followers; 108,667,186 Total
Dating
Messi
Status: in relationship with Antonella Roccuzzo from 2008 - present.
Rumored History (NOT OFFICIAL): Macarena Lemos and Luciana Salazar.
Children: 2 sons, Thiago Messi and Matteo Messi
Neymar
Status: single
Rumored History (NOT OFFICIAL): Carolina Nogueira Dantas, Barbara Evans, Nicole Bahls, Daniela Carvalho, Carol Abranches, Andressa Suita, Maira Cardi, Roberta Appratti, Carol Belli, Dani Sperle, Anitta, Patricia Jordane, Bruna Marguezine, Laryssa Oliveira, Gabriella Lenzi, Soraja Vucelic, Eliabeth Martinez, Thaila Ayala
Children: 1 son, David Lucca da Silva Santos
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