Neymar Jr: 'The secret is to get better every day'

Neymar Jr was the star attraction at Thursday’s presentation of the agreement between FC Barcelona and Gillette in the Auditori 1899. The Brazilian made himself available for questioning from the media, explaining how “I feel at home at Barça, I can’t imagine myself wearing any other shirt” and also repeating his view that “Messi is the best player I have ever seen. Having him in the team makes us the best in the world.”

“It’s so much easier to play with Messi next to you” he continued. “I have a great understanding with him, and with Suárez too. We always try to help each other to make sure things work out right. The trident will carry on doing all we can for the team with our goals and assists.”

The first season they played together, the MSN scored 122 goals, and the second year they got 131, Can they go better this time round? “The secret is to get better every day” says Neymar. “That’s life. Improving in every training session, in every game. So I hope can score even more than 131 goals this season.” They have 12 already, and it’s still only September!

This being a Gillette presentation, Neymar, who likes a clean-shaven look, was asked for his opinion about Messi’s somewhat hairier aspect this season. “I think there’s some room for improvement” he laughed. “But he looks handsome enough to me!”

An intriguing question that really got Neymar thinking was one that asked which football rule he’d most like to see changed. He thought long and hard before finally settling on the automatic yellow card for taking your shirt off.

And when asked to pick one moment when he really felt that he had hit the big-time, he responded that “I think it was when I had made so much money from football that I was able to buy a house for my family. That’s when it really sank in. It was a really nice feeling.”

The questions didn’t only centre on Neymar’s role at Barça, but also on his feelings about the supposed crisis that his national team has faced in recent years. “I wouldn’t call it a crisis” said the Brazilian. “We didn’t win the World Cup and that was a disappointment, but we still have great players and a great new manager. We’ll be winning things again soon, I’m quite sure of that.”