Neymar names Barcelona legend as best player he has ever played with

 

International Champions Cup 2017 - FC Barcelona v Manchester United

Brazil superstar Neymar has named his former Barcelona teammate Sergi Roberto as the best player he has played with for club and country. The Al-Hilal striker is out injured since last year.

Neymar, 32, enjoyed a fruitful four-season stint at the Camp Nou between 2013 and 2017 before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain on a world-record transfer of €222 million. The Brazilian scored goals and won trophies galore – including two La Liga titles and the continental treble.

Having bagged a rich haul of 105 goals and 76 assists in 186 games across competitions at the Camp Nou, Neymar shared the pitch 104 times with Roberto, recording four joint goal contributions, with the Brazilian scoring three of them.

Ahead of Brazil’s final 2024 Copa America game with Columbia on Tuesday (July 2) in Santa Clara, California, Neymar named Roberto as the best player he has played with (as per Bavaros Brasil).

The striker is not in Dorival Junior’s 26-man squad for the Copa since rupturing his ACL while on international duty in October last year. Nevertheless, the country’s all-time top scorer is cheering his teammates on from the United States as they look to win their first Copa title since 2019.

Roberto, meanwhile, has been at the Camp Nou since the 2010-11 season, contributing 19 goals and 43 assists in 373 games across competitions.

How Neymar starred for Barcelona in their treble-winning season?

Former Barcelona striker NeymarFormer Barcelona striker Neymar
Neymar was a key player as Barcelona won their second continental treble in the 2014-15 season. Luis Enrique’s charges finished two points ahead of their arch-rivals Real Madrid (92) in a titanic La Liga title race.

They beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in the Copa del Rey final and also overcame Juventus by the same scoreline in the UEFA Champions League title match to become the first European club to win multiple continental trebles.

Neymar starred with 39 goals and 10 assists in 54 games across competitions. That includes 22 goals and nine assists in 33 games in La Liga, seven goals and an assist in six Copa del Rey outings and 10 strikes in 12 games in the UEFA Champions League.