And?
I think youāll find that you could replace Neymar with a lot of people and youāll find that the trio would work just as well if not better.
MSN worked because of Messiās brilliance and Suarezās unselfishness. Neymar was the third wheel there with delusions of grandeur.
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And itās not that Neymar is/wasnāt a good player. He clearly is. But heās not as good as how highly he rated himself.
And just goes to show how huge a player Suarez is.
Probably one of the few complete CFs who didnāt mind playing the false 9 role for Messi.
And that was my point. He is regarded as one of the three best players in the world behind Messi and Ronaldo for most of his career while arguably not even being one of the three best players on his own team half the time.
His mentality and off-the-field antics are a huge part of why he is overrated. The guy canāt be arsed playing. In his career since leaving Brazil he has played in more than 30 league games just twice (in eleven years!) - both of those being seasons when he was playing in the MSN forward line.
Heās certainly hugely talented but heās never been the main guy and for someone with his reputation I find that amazing.
I hear on the Brazil shout by the way but 1. International football is shit and doesnāt count. 2. Heās played way more than any of those other legends because so many more games are scheduled now.
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So you and I arenāt that far apart. Neither of our opinions are remotely close to some of the follow up conversation since you first raised the question about him though.
Brilliant player.
We can discuss about the possible motivations for his moves from Barca to PSG at the time or to Saudi, his sisterās famous birthday, diving and what not.
One of the best of his generation, of course he doesnāt have to be in conversations about one of the best ever.
He goes into that category of both a great entertainer (skills wise, which is rare to see these days) and a great player, a bit like Ronaldinho was.
For many players and fans, they warm to these players. Yamal said recently that Messi was great, the best and whatever, but his idol was Neymar.
PSG ruined him. He turned into a diving , wingeing , cheating little twat. I honestly couldnāt bear watching him.
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Brazilianās love him because of the skill (at least the oneās I know), other than that heās a useless addition in a team, itās impossible to get them too see it that way.
I was never much of a fan. Clearly a skillful player but I didnāt get the hype.
Errrā¦ forgive me, but what has this discussion about Neymar to do with the Abu Dhabi cheaters? 
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Maybe itās because Neymar is also a cheater.
Anyway, it has been offtrack for 20 or so posts already, the guilty ones include some mods.
Time to get back on course.
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Was to me the best player I ever saw play in the flesh.
Salah has been a close second, I saw Messi and (none fat Ronaldo) but both were a bit shit one to tell the grand nephews and nieces I guess.
Like my Uncle who was a city fan pre the old days. He would tell me about Matthews and the like.
When I was a young sprog I went to the Gerry Byrne testimonial at Anfield.
Along with other familiar names, Stanley Matthews was playing in the All-Stars opposition. He was about 55yrs old then, and had the stoop and pure white legs that none of the other players had progressed to yet.
My Dad had told me many times about him, and what a good winger he wasā¦ On the night; thinking back now; he was still pretty nimble on his feet, and dribbled the ball past a couple of defenders now and againā¦ It was a testimonial though, so read into that as you willā¦
Whether it was his reputation, or past superstar status, there really did seem like an aura about him thoughā¦ Oh, and it was the first time I had seen such long (legged) shorts :0)
Liverpool v All Stars XI 8-8 (Testimonial: April 8, 1970)
April 8, 1970
Key note: āThe name Anfield is synonymous with great soccer occasions. Bulging at its 54,000 capacity seams it has seen some great moments of football drama unwind. Yet last night saw it reach a new peak of sportsmanship. It was a night filled with snow and thunder from which one would not refuse shelter to oneās worst enemy. Yet 41,000 Liverpool fans arrived at Anfield to pay tribute, thanks and farewell to one man ā Gerry Byrne, football courageous and, for a decade and a half, an Anfield hero. That sort of gate on a night like that for a testimonial game would surely turn almost every soccer club in the world emerald green with envy. Certainly it was a fitting way for Liverpudlians to pay their thanks to a man who did so much to bring the FA Cup to Anfield for the one and only time in 1965 when he played for most of the final with a broken collar bone.ā (Liverpool Echo: April 9, 1970)
Match: Testimonial for Gerry Byrne, at Anfield, kick-off: 19:30.
Liverpool ā All Stars XI 8-8 (2-2).
Attendance: 41,000.
Referee: Mr. George McCabe.
Liverpool: Tommy Lawrence, Chris Lawler, Geoff Strong, Ron Yeats, Tommy Smith, Willie Stevenson, Ian Callaghan, Gordon Milne, Bobby Graham, Roger Hunt, Ian St. John.
All Stars: Gordon Banks, Jimmy Armfield, Alex Parker, John McLaughlin, Larry Lloyd, Willie Hunter, George Eastham, Stanley Matthews, Tony Hateley, Alf Arrowsmith, Steve Heighway.
The goals: 1-0 Hunt (9 min.), 1-1 McLaughlin (27 min.), 2-1 Stevenson (28 min.), 2-2 Hateley (37 min.), 2-3 Armfield (47 min.), 2-4 Lloyd (52 min.), 3-4 Graham (53 min.), 3-5 Hunter (58 min.), 4-5 St. John (60 min.), 4-6 Eastham (62 min.), 4-7 Arrowsmith (66 min.), 5-7 St. John (68 min.), 6-7 Lawrence (penaty, 70 min.), 6-8 Hunter (75 min.), 7-8 Lawrence (78 min.), 8-8 Milne (79 min.)
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My dad has met Geoff Hurstā¦at a family gathering in the 50s 
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Actually he was our left back, and an excellent one too. A proper Scouser and a tough opponent. He played a good portion of the 1965 FA Cup final against Leeds with a broken collar bone. No subs in those days so he played through the pain for the good of the team. We won of course. He was a hard man on the field but a softly spoken gentleman of it.
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Yeah, Gerry Byrne was the LFC left backā¦ the winger I referred to in my comment was Stanley Matthews 
My bad. Yeah Mathews was a legend. He made very little money during his career sadly. His glory days were before the professional footballers basic wage rule was ratified.
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I met former city striker David White back in the early 90s at a trial game not long after his England debut. One of my friends asked him how he felt about having the shittest performance in an England shirt ever. He just laughed and said āharsh, but difficult to argue with that judgementā 
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