MESSI & NEYMAR, LACK OF HARMONY ?

At the start of the season some FC Barcelona observers & insiders commented that two roosters in the same chicken pen were incompatible. The two roosters they talked about are Lionel Messi & Neymar, the first the undisputed star of his Club & the other the heir apparent to his throne. Although publicly Neymar kneels & praises the steeps that Messi leaves behind, privately Messi thinks that Neymar is more show & dance than anything else, or that is what the "bad tongues" have said that Messi thinks. Hard to know for a fact, but what we can figure & see clearly is that on the field of play both Messi & Neymar are out of sync, that is, there is no harmony.

Said more clearly, Neymar & Lionel Messi do not play well together, the figures illustrate it clearly. This is the evidence, of the 43 official matches FC Barcelona has played so far this season, Neymar & Messi have coincided only 19, sharing 1,230 out of 3,870 minutes (31.7%). Between them only three passes have ended in a goal & it should be noted, that the passes were always in one direction: Neymar to Messi.

As it has been commented here, Neymar can’t seem to get out of the Lionel Messi shadow. It seems that the Football personality of the Brazilian star fizzes out when the Argentine shares pitch. The ex-Barcelona star player & ex-Coach Johan Cruyff has commented that Neymar looks like the "personal assistant of Messi.

The Brazilian is receiving some criticism locally for not putting in his expected part. There are huge expectations placed on Neymar & his performances of late have been disappointing. The best period for Neymar this season coincided with Messi injured & far away in Argentina recovering. During this period we saw a more joyful, active & dazzling Neymar with goals included.

The external factors aren’t helping Neymar. The accusations of tax evasion & “strange dealings” in the Neymar signing by Barça have added pressure on the Brazilian. FC Barcelona has been under intense fire from the "Anti-corruption Authorities" & the Tax Office & Neymar is the centre of all the investigations. Added to this is a niggling injury to his ankle that is limiting his movements, we will see how he performs with the Brazilian National Team.

Perhaps this is just coincidence & the two Barça stars are both going through difficult moments that are not allowing them to show their best together. Perhaps the critics are using the problems at Barça & the fall in team form as an opportunity to put their boots in. What is obvious however from a spectators point of view is that Neymar is currently a secondary actor & role that is not the reason he was signed for or do the Barça fans wish.