Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Neymar pays homage to Messi


The Brazilian has lauded his new team-mate's genius both on the pitch and off it and has thanked the club for the support he received upon moving to Spain Barcelona forward Neymar says that playing alongside Lionel Messi is the realisation of a personal dream.
The Brazil star made a big-money move to Camp Nou over the summer from hometown club Santos, scoring two goals in seven Liga games since his arrival. And he is thoroughly enjoying life in Spain and has been struck by his new team-mate's ability on the pitch and personality off it.

"It's the realisation of a dream and a source of inexplicable pride," he is quoted as saying by AS. "And Messi is a spectacular player, a genius. Off the pitch he is like that. Hopefully I can help him a lot on the pitch and it's an honour to play alongside him."

The 21-year-old also revealed that the club had made every effort to help him settle down when he first made the move to Spain. He added: "Thankfully, I was well received by the club, the players, the coaching staff. I feel at home already. I also had the support of Dani Alves, who helps in and out of the club."

Messi resumes Barcelona training

Lionel Messi handed Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino a boost on Monday when he returned to training after overcoming a thigh injury. The Argentine has made his comeback since picking up a thigh strain against Almeria last month and could be in contention to play against Osasuna this weekend

The 26-year-old has missed his side's last two games – a 1-0 win over Celtic in the Champions League and a 4-1 success over Valladolid – as a result of the muscle strain he sustained against Almeria last month.

The 26-year-old, who has eight league goals to his name this season from six appearances, has made a swift recovery and trained for the first time on Monday, although it remains to be seen whether he will feature in Saturday's trip to Osasuna. That game at Estadio El Sadar is followed by fixtures against AC Milan in Europe and the first Clasico of 2013-14.

Barca captain Carles Puyol also trained alongside Messi as he continues his rehabilitation from a knee injury that has sidelined him since March. Like Messi, Puyol is waiting to discover what part – if any – he will play at the weekend.