![[ESPNFC] Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Neymar Jr’s International Stats.](https://alien.top/pictrs/image/bf00c9e0-8bde-4828-8b67-c9b1eb3f2bb4.webp){kind=link}
Neymar now holds the record for most international assists after his assist against Venezuela.
Landon Donovan had 58, and there was a post on here last month that didn’t show anybody else who had more.
Probs some weird shit like Nandor Hidekguti had 70 assists to Puskas alone in 1953
So what’s you’re saying is Donovan > Neymar Jr.?
According do joeDubstep Donovan is even better than Messi, lmao dude is delusional
Nah. The facts clearly say that Neymar > Landon Donovan.
But Landon Donovan > Lionel Messi > Cristiano Ronaldo
Dude also trying to break the record for most party night before an international game.
Donovan was unironically a pretty damn good NT player.
Real shame he sufferered from depression and took a sabbitcal after his loan at Everton.
Add to that, the fact that he faced mighty opposition in CONCACAF, like Barbados, Belize and El Salvador…
Can only play who your confederation is able to schedule.
Similarly, I’ve always wondered whether there has been an Ali Daei for assists in CAF or AFC who just didn’t have their totals counted at the moment.
Ronaldo is my goat
Remove friendlies, it’s funnier than this.
Add wc nockout goals too
Add UCL knockout goals
Peak
Just to note, some of ESPN’s statistics aren’t Opta based, so I don’t know exactly where they got their data from (probably Transfermarkt).
Opta stats:
Ronaldo has 34 assists, not 45.
Messi had 53 assists, not 56.
Neymar has 58 assists, not 59.
I’ve heard Lewandowski, Modric, Benzema, Suarez all have a better claim to 3rd greatest player of this generation over Neymar. Laughable. If you look at stats he passes with flying colors and if you do the eye test he passes with flying colors. He didn’t fulfill his potential I agree, but people talk as if he’s a complete failure.
People push this narrative of him “not fulfilling his potential” I just dont follow. He’s all time top scorer for Brazil and ahead of Roando and Messi for assists! How, by any metric, is that unfulfilled potential? He’s been the heart of several lackluster Brazilian sides but really can’t do much more. The diving just pisses people off, which I get.
History will treat him better.It’s simply because he wins no big trophies while leading a team
You cannot get away from that fact
Same issue with Kane
This comment makes no sense. Looks at the trophy cabinets
The Barça’s Neymar yes, PSG’s Neymar not even close. He seems to deal better when he has better company to put him into confortable positions close to the box from the left (who would’ve guessed), but in Brazil and PSG they insisted to make him a 10 and he absolutely sucks in that position
Astonishing this. Literally every part of this comment is wrong.
Why do people have such strong opinions about players they clearly didn’t watch?
Idk what part of my opinion was “strong”, i’ve watched Neymar since his debut in Brazil as he played for my team here and i’m saying that he is a winger that finish the play, not a midfielder as he has been playing in NT and sometimes in PSG. Or you’re read my coment wrong or is too much sensible
The entire comment. Starting with saying he was a better player at Barça than he was at PSG (he was not, not even close) and then describing him as a player who needed players to supply him the ball in the final 3rd and then finishing off with saying he couldn’t play as a 10. Every single part of that comment was nonsense.
The best version of Neymar, the one we’ve seen at his peak playing for Brazil and PSG and who we got flashes of at Barça, has always been the one who had the freedom to be the team’s main playmaker. Even in Barça times we could see it. The Neymar we got at Barça was great, but he was limited by having to play a secondary role to Messi. Fewer opportunities to playmake and more responsibility of having to provide width and depth and make runs in behind. The Neymar we saw during every international break was the real Neymar. A devastating playmaker and dribbler and easily the 2nd best creative fulcrum (next to Messi) there’s been in the past 15 years.
Not a single person who actually watches Neymar thinks of him as someone who thrives best being on the end of chances. What you’re describing is a player like Mbappé or Cristiano.
Neymar won UCL and Libertadores, scoring in both finals and being ucl top scorer as a winger. He was fast, great dribbling and finishing with a shot or assist. Neymar as a 10 has no stats to back him, poor performance in UCL KOs except for 1 year and a mid performance with Brazil NT, he carries the ball to much and loses possession all the time as well as wasting many attacking chances by simpy not passing the ball, also can consistenly ping passes like Messi in this role. As a winger He was much more like a Ribery than a Mbappe or Cristiano, and was great at it, if we had a proper 10 in the build up with him in his natural position he would be 3x the player he has been
I’m not saying he wasn’t best as a winger, I’m saying he was best as a winger who with the freedom to be his team’s main playmaker. That’s the way he played in that Libertadores win, in almost his entire Brazil career, in Barça whenever Messi was out and at PSG.
That’s a difference from how he played as winger in that Barça treble season (where he was great, no doubt but that treble was about the entire front 3 fittin together and Messi having his peak season. Neymar himself had far from reached his best level). If anything during that treble season should be a reference for the best version of Neymar it’s the way Messi player in that free winger role. Receive the ball early and have all the freedom to dribble, pass, shoot, etc while other players are tasked with being at the end of your chances.
And as for him not being able to play the 10, look back one year. He’s done it for stretches in his career but that PSG stretch before the WC he was playing some of his best football ever pretty much all from that left 10 position.
All 4 of those players, and you can add Bale to the mix, were just much better for much longer.
Neymar is probably the most talented of them all, but he was just never available and failed his teams time after time.
Best ability is availability.
Laughable that Lewa has been a world class #9 since 2012? Who genuinely has the case to have two Ballon d’Ors and has scored at an insane rate since going to Bayern? And also led his team to a treble which is more than anything Neymar has done without Messi?
tbh imo even Neuer has a better claim of being the 3rd greatest of this generation over lewa, modric, benz and suarez
This is exactly true. Comparing a great attacker to the best goalkeeper to ever play the game just shows they don’t rate goalkeepers at all as if they’re not playing the same game.
Suarez has a very strong claim to be the third best player in this generation.
Not everybody can win a European Golden Boot in the Premier League and La Liga in the era where Ronaldo and Messi scooped up every individual award.
He is a Copa America winner with Uruguay too…
Ridiculous statement. Can easily be argued that Suarez has been better.
I’ve heard Lewandowski, Modric, Benzema, Suarez all have a better claim to 3rd greatest player of this generation over Neymar. Laughable
It’s not. Neymar has been injured half the time since he left Barca, if you only count their prime years than sure.
Defenders and midfielders always get the rough end of the stick, as they don’t have the same stats to back them up.
Just look at Xavi. He was one of the greatest ever but gets criminally overlooked in these discussions as his role wasn’t really to get goals and assists.
Similar with Modric.
I like your argument more when you compare other forwards - in that case, Neymar has a good shout at being the 3rd best forward of his generation
World cups won?
A healthy Neymar would have won a Ballon d’Or
I genuinely think he would have easily become the 2nd best player in your history if he never left Barca. Can’t think of a more perfect replacement for Messi. He really should have never left Barca
you’re caping hard bro
Which year?
Be specific.
and a fortnite tournament
Brazil let Neymar down, not the other way around. Incredible stats.
The only Goat to me CR7!
Neymar thinks he’s on the team
He’s got better numbers per game than the other two lol
I prefer Suarez as the worlds 3rd best player .
Have we officially watered down all football “analysis” to just goal and assist tallies? Depressing.
I’m not downplaying Ronaldo, but I feel as if 178 goals or 128 goals against countries like Brazil/Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia or Ecuador (specially in the heights) are “worth” much more than goals scored against the likes of Luxemburgo or Malta.
Its probably just bias, but a factor worth considering regardless, considering how much tighter Conmebol is (also applies to Suarez I feel)
In competitive internationals:
Messi: 124 Games, 57 Goals, 37 Assists, 94G/A, 0.46 goals per game, 0.76 G/A per game.
Ronaldo: 151 Games, 107 Goals, 25 assists, 132 G/A, 0.71 goals per game, 0.87 G/A per game.
Neymar: 58 Games, 33 Goals, 29 assists, 62 G/A, 0.57 goals per game, 1.07 G/A per game.
Neymar was supposed to be the one to get a ballon d or after messi and Ronaldo’s era. I mean fair play to him to get the bag at PSG and Saudi but it hurts to see he never fully reached his potential of being the best at some point
Honestly it’s crazy how Ronaldo is still this good at 38, he found joy again after that toxic united spell and now united fans realize he wasn’t the problem but the guy was really going through it all the way until the end of the World Cup and the entire world turned on him. Then Messi won the World Cup after Argentina were gifted unlimited penalty kicks and then this subreddit just went bat shit insane acting as if Ronaldo was always shit. Then anytime Messi flicks a ball this subreddit loses its mind and says “it was never in contention Messi the goat!” The bias here is so insane
CR7 being the problem and Man Utd being the problem can both be true and imo, they were true then.
Just don’t go to r/football , Messi fanboys will automatically downvote anyone that says Cristiano is a good player (don’t even need to say he is the goat) and whenever someone asks for names of players that are bad, they constantly say Cristiano Ronaldo. The bias is really insane.
This is an Instagram reel comment lol. I swear, it’s always a victim complex with y’all. Oh no, the upvote ratio! Who the fuck cares? Why the fuck do you care?
Also, is it that hard for you to accept that Messi has a very genuine case for being the greatest player of all time? Like, I would love to hear your case for why that’s an incorrect take.
The victims complex is genuinely insane. Also, United went on their best run of form for ages instantly after Ronaldo left and won a trophy.
You’re right but they won’t accept it
Don’t you think the bias is because Messi is better? And also France won the World Cup with four penalties same as Argentina and I have never heard you guys botching about it.
your first question, no and your 2nd question i dont see people on here claiming Mbappe is the best player in the world of all time and Ronaldo was always shit so thats probably why people aren’t complaining about it.
He was always elite. His absurd wage demands were bad and he didn’t deserve that much. Although that doesn’t change the fact he could still play for an elite team, albeit with a lesser role
Did you even see his dribble vs Peru and Australia ? the pass vs Netherlands ? The assist vs Croatia ? The goal vs Australia ? The goal vs Mexico ? These are all in just last 10 months. Do you really think Cristiano was a good player in the world cup ? When was the last time Cristiano did something and you thought "well only he can do something like this "
This means he IS not that good of a player he ever WAS. He was. Age happens. It will happen to Messi too. The bias is there because majority of people prefer Messi over Cristiano. There can be tons of reasons to that but that’s a fact.
Last 6 matches of messi were against opponents ranked 22,38,27,38,45,90.
Cristiano last 7 matches are against - 2 against (199) ranked, 2 against (85) ranked, and 48,63,67.
This is all from last 10 months. Seeing this can you really infer he is the best player right now ? He hasn’t scored against a team ranked <48 in these 10 months.
messi is a friendly merchant , see the competitive international stats