Neymar Says He Learns from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo 'Every Day'

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar has said he continues to be inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo and former Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi. 

Speaking to The Players' Tribune, the Brazilian added he still learns from Ronaldo and Messi despite the fact he is no longer playing in the same team or league as the pair:

"Facing Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo—and I played with Messi, who is, for me, one of the greatest footballers of all time, and he is my idol in football. With Messi, I learned every day, whether during our practice, or playing with him, or just watching him play. And that made me stronger and it increased my capacity on the field because I kept learning a lot from him.

"As for Cristiano Ronaldo, he is a monster. Facing him is a pleasure and an honour, but we have to be more prepared. He is one of the greatest in football so you get smarter, you get alert, but at the same time you learn a lot, too. So, they are two of the big guys that I can relate to, because I want to learn. I want more, I want to win, I want more trophies, score more goals … so I keep learning from them every day."

Neymar, 26, joined PSG nearly 15 months ago from Barca in a world-record £200 million deal.

Since the switch he has enjoyed mixed fortunes with both club and country.

He played a crucial role as PSG won a domestic treble in 2017-18:

But the French giants were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Ronaldo's Real side in the last 16.

Brazil then failed to live up to their pre-tournament favourites tag at the 2018 FIFA World Cup as they were downed by Belgium in the quarter-finals.

Back in 2015, when Neymar was helping Barcelona win the treble, he looked the heir apparent to Messi and Ronaldo as the world's best player.

He was the man who was most likely to break the duo's iron grip on the Ballon d'Or.

But he is an outsider to claim the award this year, when Luka Modric does finally look set to end Messi and Ronaldo's 10-year dominance:

Neymar is arguably being eclipsed even at his own club by the superlative Kylian Mbappe, while Messi continues to be the main man at Barca and Ronaldo is the biggest star at new club Juventus following his summer switch from Real.

It seems clear the former Santos man is conscious he has a way to go to match Ronaldo and Messi, who have dominated for more than a decade now.

Given Ligue 1's perceived inferiority to the likes of La Liga, the Premier League and Serie A, Neymar needs to make his impact in the Champions League, a tournament that continues to prove challenging for PSG.