When Neymar Jr ranked himself, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in 'Pick the better player' video
Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr. once ranked Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and himself in a 'pick the better player' game. The game involved the Al-Hilal ace picking one player among two in each turn as the one he chose carried on in the next round.
Neymar is often considered among the greatest players of this generation alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. While many have doubts over some of his career choices, pundits and fans have often considered him close to the two legends in terms of pure talent.
Earlier this year in July, the Selecao superstar played a pick-the-better-player game in an interview with Futmais. In the penultimate round, he was asked to make the age-old choice between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Neymar Jr. did not take time to pick his former teammate.
"Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi? Messi," he said.
In the final round, the Brazilian ace further proved his loyalty to Messi by choosing the Argentine superstar over himself.
"Messi or Neymar? Messi," he said.
Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr's partnership is widely considered one of the most lethal ones in football. The Brazilian has shared the pitch with Messi the most number of times in his career with 206 games for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). They have recorded 67 joint-goal contributions.
The duo played together at Barcelona between 2013 and 2017 and notably won the treble in 2015. Neymar left the Catalan giants in 2017 to sign for PSG for a world-record fee of €222 million, where Messi joined him in 2021 after his departure from Barca. The two played alongside each other from 2021 to 2023, before joining Inter Miami and Al-Hilal, respectively.
Meanwhile, Neymar has never played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in the same team. He has however faced the Portuguese talisman in eight games at the club level.
"I don't know if I'll reach their level" - When Neymar Jr weighed in on being compared to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
In a 2014 interview with the Brazilian outlet Global Esporte, Neymar Jr. spoke about being compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are better than any player today. It's difficult to compete with them. I don't know if I'll reach their level, but I hope to better myself each day. I always want to be better than I am," the Selecao superstar said.
At the time of the interview, Neymar Jr. had just started his career in Europe after joining Barcelona from Santos FC in 2013. The Al-Hilal star went on to become part of one of the greatest attacking trios of all time at Barcelona, alongside Messi and Luis Suarez.
In 186 outings for La Blaugrana, Neymar Jr. recorded 105 goals and 76 assists across competitions. He also won one UEFA Champions League and two LaLiga titles with the club among other honors. In 2015, Neymar finished third in the Ballon d'Or rankings with Messi and Ronaldo standing first and second respectively.
In 2017, he moved to PSG for a record €222 million transfer fee. The Brazil international has recorded 118 goals and 77 assists for the French giants in 173 appearances across competitions. The former PSG star eventually left Europe to join Saudi League giants Al-Hilal in 2023.