Barcelona are among the clubs that like to sow seed and grow a player to replace their best. However, in what could be called an anomaly, the Catalan club had to look outside to sign a player that they hope will one day replace their greatest ever player: Neymar.
Brazilian was bought with the intention of replacing the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi. But he is yet to reach the level that the Argentine superstar has enjoyed for so long.
And he might never…and here are 5 reasons why…
#1 Neymar more of an entertainer
Any Brazilian attacker worth his salt possesses this trait. One can say that most Brazilians are born with it and moulded by it. It is why Brazil is known as the Samba land; be it flair on the football pitch or on the streets, the South American nation is one of the most entertaining countries in the world.
So it is natural for its players to have the same attribute engraved within them. Among all the players, Neymar looks like the most naturally gifted when it comes to providing football entertainment. When he plays, it feels like he dances on the pitch to make the crowd stand on their feet and dance with him.
While Lionel Messi is regarded as the heir to the throne that Ronaldinho left, Neymar is the more similar player to the former Barcelona number 10. And it is for this reason that he can never truly be as efficient as the Argentine.
Remember how silky and mazy the former Newell’s kid used to be when he burst into the first team? Lionel Messi sacrificed that flamboyance for efficiency, something that Neymar hasn’t done yet—and something that he probably won’t do because that’s what defines him.
#2 Messi goalscoring on another level
Of course. There are only two more players who can claim to be on the same level as the Argentine when it comes to pure goal-scoring ability: Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan is only a new addition to this list of elite where the other two have reigned for the last 5-6 years.
Meanwhile, Neymar is a good scorer, but he is quite behind his team-mate when it comes to scoring ratio. Indeed, never has the Brazilian achieved a scoring ratio of more than one-goal-per-game, something that both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo do on a regular basis.
Goals are what truly define a forward. For all the talk about hold-up play and whatnot, goals are the true measure of how efficient a forward is. And in this race, Lionel Messi is far ahead of his parter-in-crime—and, perhaps, that will always be the case because it is quite impossible to have the scoring instincts of the Argentina captain.
#3 Neymar’s temper
The one thing that stands out about Messi, among many others, is that he is almost always calm and composed on the pitch. On very, very rare occasions do we see the Argentine losing his temper on the pitch.
This, in itself, is an esoteric ability that every player possesses. During a game, when the blood is pumping at full speed and the heart is pounding at full blast, it is only natural for a player to have his wrath on the edge of his nose.
In such circumstances, the former Ballon d’Or holder’s penchant of being imperturbable is a sight to behold.
In contrast, the Brazilian is on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to not giving way to wrath. Defenders have found it quite easily to get on to his nerves and it for this reason that we see him being riled up on the pitch more than any other Barcelona player.
And it works as, almost often, he loses his temper and does something imprudent to earn himself a card.
#4 Messi’s unique vision
For all the silky dribbles, the boosting burst of pace and mesmeric ball control, the thing that truly sets Messi apart from the rest of the forwards is that he has a unique kind of vision that lets him witness things even before they have happened and change it according to his will.
Most playmakers make best use of the situation and pass it in the space to an onrushing forward. Not Lionel Messi. The Argentine creates situations that open up space for his team-mates to run to—and when they do, he pulls the trigger and slides in a wondrous pass in their way.
While Neymar does have a predilection for making defense-spilling passes himself, his passes are not quite like his team-mates. He, just like most playmakers, has to have the situation in his favour to show his creative passing skills.
And that is something that Messi doesn’t require.
#5 Because he is Lionel Messi
I mean, come on, who can replace Lionel Messi? The solar system can have only one Sun, a group of bees can have only one queen and the football world can have only one Lionel Messi.
Everything about the Argentine is unique, but it doesn’t end there. Whatever he does, he does it efficiently. He is the epitome of hard work matching talent. He could have ever so easily been a showman and faded prematurely after some years at the top, like Ronaldinho, but he kept his head down and took the road of humility and sacrifice to reach where he is today.
What we see today is the result of a person making the best use of the gift God bestowed on him. They say that God is equal to everyone; I think She is, but justice is not about equality, and giving Messi the talent that he has was justice at its finest.
There can only be one Lionel Messi. And it is the one that we see today in front of us. Cherish him while he still plays, for once he retires, all you will be left are tears and highlight videos on the internet. And that, perhaps, won’t be enough.
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