Neymar vs Luis Suárez: Who is Barcelona's Second Best Player After Lionel Messi?
When you have the single greatest player in the world in Lionel Messi, expectations will always be high. But Messi isn't without his help. His South American counterparts, Neymar and Luis Suárez, help create the ultimate attack. Neymar is a far more popular player, but Suárez is the one who is currently being nominated for the UEFA Best Player Award. The final three contenders for that award are Suárez, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid. The winner will be announced Thursday, Aug. 27.
So, that begs the question. Who is Barcelona's second best player?
A legitimate case could be made for the 28-year-old Uruguayan. Suárez's transition from Liverpool of the English Premier League to the Spanish League has been extremely smooth. Many questioned whether or not he could adjust to Barcelona's roster and to a new league, but he proved those doubters wrong. Suárez's passing was terrific last season. His 14 assists ranked third in the league last season behind only Messi and Ronaldo.
Not only did Suárez gel perfectly with Messi and Neymar and show off great passing skills, but he was clutch. Suárez scored big time goals in critical moments. Against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, Suárez scored two goals in a 3-1 Barcelona victory. Possibly his biggest goal came against Juventus in the Champions League Final. With the score tied 1-1, Suárez found the net in the 68th minute of play, which proved to be the game-winner. Real Madrid fans still remember the game-winning goal that Suárez scored in the El Clasico last season in the second meeting.
Suárez is a very physical player. Though this sometimes leads to discipline, he can get to the front of the net with his skill set and power.
However, we can't overlook Neymar and all his greatness. The Brazilian superstar is the best young player in the world today, and by far the best from his country. Neymar has been playing the "Robin" role with Messi on Barcelona for three seasons now. He and Messi have accomplished a lot more together than Suárez and Messi have.
Neymar is also a more gifted goal scorer. Last Spanish League season Neymar scored six more goals than Suárez for Barcelona. Although he's just 23 years old, a case could be made that Neymar is the best dribbler in the world today. That's not to say that he lacks passing skills at all, but Neymar is more capable of making and creating plays by himself than Suárez. Suárez is regarded as the more physical player, and that's probably appropriate, but don't underestimate Neymar's toughness. Just ask Colombia about that.
Fortunately for Barcelona fans, they don't have to worry. They have all three elite superstars on their squad, and another La Liga season is about to begin. It's the rest of Europe that has to worry.
@1zundu @yanujr Neymar was better than Ronaldo and Suarez in Europe last season
— Don T (@Teeiyanda) August 13, 2015
@mih_rocha @BrazilStats or simply Suarez is better than Neymar — ALi (@ALiBayazeed) August 13, 2015
Luis Suarez is easily the second best player in the world. Much better than Neymar, Ronaldo or Hazard.
— Lydi (@fail2succeed) August 13, 2015
Did Suarez have a better season than Neymar last year? Never. — Swiss Gooner (@Wilshereats) August 14, 2015
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