{"id":12190,"date":"2026-04-26T16:59:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T16:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/12190\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T16:59:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T16:59:13","slug":"what-i-saw-from-neymar-during-his-first-week-with-us-is-the-closest-thing-to-messi-says-barcelona-legend-xavi-hernandez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/12190\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018What I saw from Neymar during his first week with us is the closest thing to Messi,’ says Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neymar Jr.<\/a> became one of the best players to have ever played for Barcelona. While his departure in 2017 left fans deeply hurt, the Brazilian managed to perfectly adapt alongside Lionel Messi<\/a> and Luis Su\u00e1rez, forming a formidable attacking trio that dominated Europe. Despite his legacy currently being subject to criticism, Barcelona legend Xavi Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> chose to praise his talent, making a striking comparison to Messi.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I saw from Neymar during his first week with us is the closest thing to Messi. I haven\u2019t seen any player as close to Messi as Neymar was when he joined Bar\u00e7a at 21 years old. He couldn\u2019t return when I was coach, but because of the club\u2019s financial situation. I was also able to bring back Alves, Pedrito, and Messi,\u201d Xavi Hernandez said, via Romario TV.<\/p>\n

After playing 186 matches for Barcelona<\/a>, the Brazilian managed to score 105 goals and provide 76 assists. In addition, he played a key role in the team\u2019s trophy success, leading in their last Champions League title, two LaLiga titles, the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup, three Copa del Rey trophies, and one Spanish Super Cup. Beyond statistics and titles, he left a major legacy through his brilliant playing style.<\/p>\n

Neymar Jr. complemented Lionel Messi at Barcelona<\/p>\n

Far from being overshadowed by Lionel Messi\u2019s presence, Neymar Jr. was pushed to his best version. With 67 goal contributions together in 206 games, the Argentine is the teammate with whom the Brazilian has been most prolific in his career. Alongside this, the pair shared a brilliant on-field connection, creating numerous scoring chances for Barcelona. In addition, the 34-year-old led the historic comeback against PSG in the Champions League.<\/p>\n

\"Lionel<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi (L) and Neymar Jr. of FC Barcelona.<\/p>\n

While Messi stood out for his goalscoring and creativity, Neymar excelled in dribbling and pace, opening up space against tight defensive lines. In addition, the Argentine linked up perfectly with the Brazilian, helping the team secure several memorable victories, as there were no egos or jealousy involved. Since they did not operate in the same areas of the pitch or share the same characteristics, they complemented each other.<\/p>\n

\"Xavi<\/p>\n

see also<\/p>\n

Xavi Hernandez praises Lionel Messi\u2019s \u2018unmatched\u2019 legacy, revealing details of his \u2018near\u2019 return to Barcelona<\/p>\n

<\/a>Neymar Jr. reveals the two reasons that led him to leave Barcelona<\/p>\n

With Lionel Messi already a veteran, Barcelona viewed Neymar Jr. as the natural successor to the team\u2019s leadership, as he had already established as one of the squad\u2019s main goalscorers and playmakers. Despite this, the Brazilian decided to leave the club in 2017, heading to PSG. Amid rumours that he was departing in order to become the best player in the world, he revealed the two main reasons that led him to leave the Blaugrana.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t leave with the idea of becoming the best in the world. Messi told me he would make me the best in the world. But I left for other personal reasons. Of course, PSG are financially stronger than Bar\u00e7a, and in Paris there were Brazilian players, and they were all my friends (Lucas Moura, Dani Alves, Marquinhos, and Thiago Silva),\u201d Neymar Jr. revealed in a 2025 interview with Romario.<\/p>\n

With his departure from the Blaugrana, Neymar\u2019s legacy at the club was left somewhat damaged, with the Brazilian frequently facing criticism from fans. Even so, Xavi Hern\u00e1ndez revealed that he came close to returning while he was head coach, something he reportedly pursued over several seasons. Despite this, the Brazilian still wrote his name into Barcelona\u2019s history, remaining fondly remembered by many supporters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Neymar Jr. became one of the best players to have ever played for Barcelona. While his departure in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[92,332,2865,7241],"class_list":{"0":"post-12190","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-barcelona","8":"tag-barcelona","9":"tag-lionel-messi","10":"tag-neymar","11":"tag-xavi-hernandez"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}