‘Lionel Messi obsessed with goals, Neymar is Cirque du Soleil’ – Dani Alves explains why PSG superstars are ‘animals’

• Dani Alves full of praise for ex-teammates
• Calls both 'geniuses'
• Pair have started season strongly

WHAT HAPPENED? Veteran Brazilian defender Alves has worked with two iconic South American forwards during spells at Barcelona and PSG. He holds both in the highest regard, as they are “animals” on the football field, but admits that there are obvious differences in their approach to the game.

WHAT THEY SAID: Alves has told Globo: “Neymar and Messi are similar. Players who can see a little more than the rest, with one particular feature: Messi is obsessed with scoring goals. All he does is think about scoring goals. Neymar is more juggling, Cirque du Soleil.

“Ney has an animal inside, which when people touch it, they want to harm it, it comes out. Then you're dead, you can't stop it. It's his weapon of defence. When I played against the two, I told my team-mates: don't beat them up; don't let the animal inside these guys wake up. You can't stop them. If you pinch them, they ruin your day. They are idols of kids who want to play football, and that's a lot of weight for them to carry. But it's their problem that they decided to be geniuses.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Messi and Neymar have been starring alongside one another at PSG this season, with the Argentina international registering 12 goals and 14 assists while his Brazilian counterpart has found the target on 15 occasions and teed up a further 11 efforts for grateful colleagues.

IN A PHOTO:

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WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI AND NEYMAR? While chasing down the same targets at club level, as PSG seek to land an elusive Champions League crown in 2022-23, Messi and Neymar are about to become rivals in pursuit of ultimate glory with their respective countries at the World Cup finals in Qatar.