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Neymar on Messi: Playing against him is bad
Neymar has said playing against Lionel Messi is not good, it is bad. The Brazilian forward made the remark to Globo's SporTV in July 2015 while discussing Brazil's World Cup qualifying campaign.…
The Story in Brief
Neymar has said playing against Lionel Messi is not good, it is bad. The Brazilian forward made the remark to Globo's SporTV in July 2015 while discussing Brazil's World Cup qualifying campaign. He was then serving a ban from that year's Copa América and would return for the November match against Argentina, putting him against Messi. The quote is a lighthearted admission of the difficulty Messi's talent creates for opponents.
Neymar added that Messi is great but facing him is bad because it forces you to be better. He has also called it impossible to beat Messi and a pleasure to test himself against the best. The quote captures how elite athletes can compete fiercely while respecting a rival's ability.
The Indian Opinion
The lazy narrative here is that praising a rival shows weakness. Neymar's quote does the opposite. Recognising Messi's talent takes honesty and self-awareness, a trait rare in modern chest-thumping sport culture. The real test is whether India's own stars can similarly acknowledge greatness without feeling diminished. Can Virat Kohli say facing Pat Cummins is bad and mean it?
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
