When Lionel Messi made his Barcelona debut against Espanyol in 2004, everyone knew he would come good for the club. As it turned out, Messi became more than just ‘good’. He became one of the greatest players of all time and helped Barcelona reach the summit of European football during his time at the club.
The players around him have always helped Lionel Messi’s career, and Neymar became a huge part of that in 2013 when he joined the Catalan club. Sadly, the Brazilian couldn’t reach the heights of Lionel Messi and eventually left the club, something Claudio Bravo recently explained.
Claudio Bravo explains why Neymar Jr was unable to replace Lionel Messi
Barcelona signed Neymar in 2013 to make him a part of the new-generation Barca team. The Brazilian had already established himself at Santos as the most exciting youngster in world football, and after a long-drawn transfer saga, which also involved Real Madrid, Barcelona landed their next big thing; the supposed ‘new Lionel Messi.’
Barcelona had a superstar in Neymar – a player with a very promising commercial return, considering his influence on social media and how young he was when they signed him. Claudio Bravo, who was Barcelona’s goalkeeper between 2014 and 2016, recently explained why Neymar couldn’t reach the level of Lionel Messi at the club, even though he had a great run during his time at Barcelona.
“Maybe what he demands of himself is not the same,” Bravo explained. “You can have a lot of talent, but if your head doesn’t have daily commitment, it’s impossible,” he added.
Neymar may not have reached Messi’s level of greatness (not many players have), but he certainly made an impact at Barcelona. The Brazilian winger scored 105 goals in his four years at the club before commanding the world-record signing fee from PSG to move to France in 2017.
He later linked up with Lionel Messi at PSG when the latter’s contract with Barcelona expired in 2021, and they were teammates for two seasons before they both moved to different clubs in the summer of 2023.
Neymar’s respect for Lionel Messi is still very much intact, as he recently congratulated the Argentine on his eighth Ballon d’Or win a few weeks ago, alongside Ronaldinho.
Is it possible to see Barca’s MSN in Inter Miami?
Neymar enjoyed the most exciting times of his career when he played alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Barcelona, forming one of the most lethal attacking trios in the world. They were nicknamed the MSN, the first letters in their names, and they delivered for the club in the years they spent, including the treble-winning season in 2014-2015.
They played 409 games together and scored a whopping 344 goals and 157 assists between them. With Luis Suarez already imminently linking up with Lionel Messi in Inter Miami for the new MLS season next year, rumors of a potential MSN reunion have been circulating.
However, any deal to bring Neymar to the MLS may be complicated, considering how the Brazilian just joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in a mega-money deal.
Inter Miami, on the other hand, are doing everything they can to please Lionel Messi, and they’ve done this by reuniting the World Cup winner with his former Barcelona teammates, including Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and potentially Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic.
Is the MSN reunion at Inter Miami a possibility?
