With 365Scores’ Birthday being tomorrow, we’re at the final stage of our bracket to decide the best number 10 in this year’s World Cup.
It is our final, and it’s a clash between former teammates Lionel Messi and Neymar, of Argentina and Brazil.
Lionel Messi is the lead talisman of the Argentinean national team. He is a 10 time La Liga champion, a 4 time Champions League winner, and a Copa America winner with Argentina in 2021. Individually he has 7 Ballon d’Ors to his name, more than any player. He is the most capped Argentina national team player ever, having made 164 appearances, scoring 90 goals and assisting 50.
Messi is going in to his 5th World Cup, which will be the joint most. In 2006 he debuted and scored a goal in his first match, but Argentina were knocked out in the quarter finals on penalties. In 2010 Messi had a very quiet tournament, playing all the matches but not scoring once as he lost in the quarter finals. The 2018 World Cup, Argentina lost to the tournaments winners France in the first knockout round, despite Messi performing extremely well. The 2014 finals was Messi’s tournament however, where he came agonisingly close to taking the trophy home to Buenos Aires. He’d had an unbelievable tournament up to the final scoring 4 goals and already confirmed to win the Golden Ball, but fell short at the final hurdle. With this years World Cup being his last ever, no one in the world has more motivation to take the trophy home than Lionel Messi.
Neymar is the prime playmaker of the Brazilian national team. Neymar has won the French league 4 times, and Spanish league twice, whilst also winning the Champions League in 2015 for Barcelona. He won Olympic gold with the national team in their 2016 home Olympics, scoring the winning penalty. He has made 121 appearances for the Brazilian national team scoring 75 goals and assisting 55 goals.
Neymar’s World Cup record is a painful one to talk about. In the 2014 World Cup held in his homeland he suffered a fractured vertebral in the quarter finals, which left him unable to continue the tournament. The team lost heavily in the next round to Germany and superstar Neymar was not there to assist his teammates. In 2018 he and Brazil were sent home earlier than expect by Belgium in the quarter finals. This year he wants to take it a big step further and bring home the World Cup for his country as he is unsure if he will ever play another World Cup again.
The pair played together at Barcelona, creating a formidable and iconic partnership alongside Luis Suarez. The trio played 113 matches together and scored 253 goals for the Spanish club. Messi and Neymar spent 3 seasons together, in this time they won two La Liga titles, three consecutive Copa Del Rey’s and won Champions League, proving how consistent Barcelona were when the pair were up front.
However, towards the end of Neymar’s time at the Catalan club he began to feel uncomfortable of constantly being in Messi’s shadow. He therefore forced a move to PSG where he could be the star man.
When it comes to representing their nations Lionel Messi and Neymar become fierce rivals. Argentina and Brazil arguably have the biggest rivalry in international football. The rivalry dates back to when both nations were dominating world football, and debates were formed as to which country played a better style of football, and who was better Pele or Maradona. The two have never faced off in a World Cup final, and this year both are favourites to win the tournament so it could well happen.
Messi