Both Lionel Messi and Neymar are in amazing form for both club and country this season, with both players grabbing goals and assists aplenty since the season started. But which player is doing better?
Our number 10 and number 11 have some pretty impressive statistics this season. In 20 matches, Lionel Messi has scored 15 goals and made nine assists for both Barca and Argentina, while Neymar has 25 goals in 25 appearances for club and country, making one assist.
So, it is quite evident that Neymar has taken over goalscoring duties at Barca (with 12 goals) from Messi (who 'only' has 11). While Neymar has proven that he's capable of the one goal per game ratio that Messi has boasted for years, Messi has shown that he's capable of turning provider and has relinquished his role as a goal scorer. With that said, he is still getting the goals and his four goals in three starts for Argentina surely serve as proof that he is capable of being just as proficient as he ever was.
The one part of Messi's game that deserves credit (in comparison with Neymar) is that his passing has been more accurate, with 85% of his passes hitting the target, while Neymar only his the target 79.7% of the time.
It is probably because Messi can hit the target when passing to his teammates that he has a far better assist tally than Neymar.
One thing has become clear though, we are moving away from the regular goal scoring Messi that we've grown accustomed to, as the Argentine makes way for Neymar to establish himself at the club. Messi is slowly becoming a veteran and will be a mentor to Neymar for the next few seasons, until the Brazilian completely explodes as a global star.
In terms of form, I would say they are both playing at a similar level, with Neymar perhaps having a slight edge, because of his incredible goal scoring statistics…
Do you think Neymar will eventually take over from Lionel Messi?
