He told Fox Sports: "Technically, Neymar is the best player in the world. Today, technically, nobody can beat Neymar. Not even Messi, although I am a fan of him. But he does not surpass him in terms of technical quality."
Cafu's claim sounds rather strange given Leo Messi has won six Ballon d'Or awards while Neymar wasn't even nominated for this accolade last year.
Let the figures do the talking: Messi has scored 627 goals in 718 matches for Barcelona. The Argentine nears Pele's all-time record for the most goals scored for a single club. The Brazilian is just 16 goals ahead of him.
Messi has also won six Ballon d'Or awards, more than any other footballer in history. He claimed the latest accolade in December.
This season, Messi tops La Liga's statistical charts for goals scored and assists provided with 19 goals and 12 assists. In total, the Argentine has netted 24 goals in 31 matches in all competitions this term. He missed almost two months with an injury, by the way.
As for Neymar, his career has been affected by several serious injuries. Even though he joined PSG in 2017, he has only managed 69 goals in 80 appearances for the Parisians.
Neymar's best moments arrived during his Blaugrana spell. At Barcelona, he scored 105 goals in 186 matches.
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