According to the greatest soccer player ever - Pele -- Neymar is currently the best player in the world. However, the Brazilian sensation admitted Lionel Messi deserves that honor after the Barcelona striker's hat-trick inspired Argentina to a 4-3 win over Brazil in a friendly.
Messi, much maligned for his indifferent form for his country, led Argentina with a virtuoso performance, completing his hat-trick with a brilliant solo goal in the final moments to give his side a memorable victory over their arch-rivals at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey.
However, Argentina will be relieved to pick up a win after they put up a near full-strength team with the likes of Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain, while Brazil played with a young squad, in preparation for the Olympics. Romulo, Oscar and Hulk scored for Brazil.
Neymar, who picked up two assists in the match but failed to score, said: "It is very simple -- Messi is the best in the world, and if you give him a little bit of space, he can do whatever he wants," the Santos striker told reporters.
"But this match was not a walk in the park, like many had predicted. We could have won the match, we had chances to score. We played well and we showed that we are on the right track."
Messi was also full of praise for Neymar, who he swapped shirts with after the match. "He always spoke well of me. He is a great player and after the match we exchanged shirts."
Messi said he was delighted with the victory. "This kind of triumph makes us stronger as a team and group and helps us to grow up even more.
"Despite being a friendly, it is always nice to defeat Brazil. I'm also very happy with my three goals; it's not common to see seven goals in Argentina versus Brazil."
The Barca striker's national team-mate Sergio Aguero was in awe of his compatriot's performance. "He does not surprise me anymore. He is the world's best player, no question about it.
"He won three (FIFA) Ballon d'Or's and he is competing for another one. He will be the best player in the world until he retires."
Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella was also impressed. "Fortunately, Messi is Argentinian and we can enjoy him," he said.
"Messi is an extraordinary player and he has been for a long time. In the national team his recent performances have been good for us and today's game was great.
"We played against a team who have a great attacking power. It was a very exciting duel for the crowd."
