Given their incredible accomplishments in the sport, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are recognised as the GOATs of footballers, but Neymar is not far behind either superstar.
While Messi and Ronaldo have won many Ballon d’Ors throughout their careers, Neymar has yet to receive the honour despite being one of the best players in the world.
At the age of 30, Neymar has recorded an impressive tally of goals and assists, placing him second only to Messi.
With a total of 627 goal contributions, Neymar has outperformed Ronaldo, who has 617 goal contributions.
Messi, on the other hand, leads the pack with a remarkable 796 goal contributions.
Thus, while Ronaldo trails closely behind Neymar, it is Messi who holds the top position in terms of overall goal contributions at this stage of their careers.
The Brazilian forward scored 71 goals for Santos, 105 goals for Barcelona, and 105 goals for PSG, Transfermarkt reports.
Neymar hails Cristiano and Messi
Meanwhile, Neymar has admitted it is difficult for anyone to compete with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in football due to both superstars’ achievements, Sportskeeda reports.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward has competed against the multiple Ballon d’Or winners several times in his career and reveals Ronaldo and Messi are the benchmarks of greatness in modern football.
Messi has won seven Ballon d’Or awards, while Cristiano has bagged five in his career but now both players have moved out of Europe after two decades.
Neymar auctions Messi’s special award
It was reported that Neymar has auctioned Paris Saint-Germain’s tribute award to Lionel Messi during the third edition of the Brazilian superstar’s charity auction in Sao Paolo.
The Ligue 1 giants awarded Messi the special tribute award after announcing his departure from PSG, after spending two years with the Parisians.
Famous streamer, Casemiro, won the third-most expensive item of the night as he offered $173,000 for the Lionel Messi trophy.