MX23RW : Wednesday, January 15 18:54:57| >> :120:4131:4131:

Ronaldo: 'Neymar is the heir to Lionel Messi'

Barcelona attacker Neymar has the potential to achieve what club teammate Lionel Messi has in the game, according to former Brazil striker Ronaldo.

Former Brazil striker Ronaldo has paid tribute to Neymar and claimed that the 24-year-old is the "heir" to Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi.

Neymar joined Barcelona from Santos in 2013 and has scored 76 times in 123 appearances for the Spanish club.

Twenty-two of those goals have come in 31 appearances this season, and the Brazil captain came third behind Messi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2015 Ballon d'Or due to his excellent form last term.

Ronaldo has said that he sees some of himself in Neymar, who is destined to become "Messi's heir".

"I like Neymar a lot. He is a bit like me. He had some difficulties in getting used to his new environment at first, but I knew that he was going to succeed," Ronaldo told Calciomercato. "Can he be Messi's heir? Yes, he has everything he needs to become as strong as him."

Only Pele (77), Ronaldo (62), Romario (55) and Zico (48) have scored more times for Brazil than Neymar, who has 46 goals in 69 appearances for his country.

ID:266806: cacheID:266806:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2308:
Written by
Matt Law
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi celebrate during the Copa del Rey game between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao on January 27, 2016
Read Next:
Ivan Rakitic hails 'MSN' friendship
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Atletico MadridAtletico19135134122244
2Real Madrid19134243192443
3Barcelona19122551222938
4Athletic Bilbao19106329171236
5Villarreal198653431330
6Mallorca199371921-230
7Real Sociedad198471713428
8GironaGirona198472725228
9Rayo Vallecano196762222025
10Real BetisBetis196762123-225
11Osasuna196762328-525
12Celta Vigo197392830-224
13Sevilla196582128-723
14Las PalmasLas Palmas196492429-522
15Getafe194781316-319
16Leganes194781829-1119
17AlavesAlaves1945102131-1017
18Espanyol1944111731-1416
19Real ValladolidValladolid1943121337-2415
20Valencia1927101829-1113


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!