Star Wars at the Maracana! Brazilian star Neymar and Argentinian star Lionel Messi, friends since their years together at FC Barcelona, face each other in the final of the Copa America in Brazil, Saturday in Rio de Janeiro.
This galactic confrontation between the two big favorites of the tournament is the opportunity for Neymar and Messi to finally win a first major title in the selection, decisive asset to win the Ballon d’Or, the race of which remains very open this year.
And too bad if “Ney” and “Leo” have nourished a sincere friendship since the four seasons spent by the Brazilian at Barça (2013-2017): neither of them will make any feelings on Saturday, aware of the opportunity to finally write the history in selection.
“I’ve always said, (Messi) he’s the best player I’ve ever seen play. He’s a great friend, but we are in the final, we are rivals now and I want to win, I want to get this title because it would also be my first, “said” Ney “. Injured, he missed the Copa America-2019 won by Brazil.
“When you have a friend who is going to be your opponent, it ends up being hard to forget the friendship. But even when you are playing with your friends, you want to beat them by all means. Saturday, it will be the case ”, added the player of Paris SG.
For Messi (34), the tournament’s top scorer and passer with 4 goals and 5 assists, this final is one of the last opportunities to win a title with Argentina, the ultimate challenge that always eludes the six-fold Ballon d’Or .
In addition to having shared the same locker room, the two friends have in common repeated failures in major international competitions.
This final is, for Messi, the opportunity to break the curse after four lost finals (World Cup-2014, Copa America 2007, 2015 and 2016) and to put an end to an endless famine of his country which has not won a trophy since the 1993 Copa America.
Neymar (29), often overtaken by injuries, always tries to forget the humiliation of 2014, when Brazil had suffered, at home, the greatest humiliation in its history (7-1) in the semi-final against the ‘Germany, in the absence of his prodigy touched on the back.
Both nonetheless have an Olympic gold medal, won in 2008 for the Argentine and in 2016 for the Brazilian, who also won the Confederations Cup in 2013.
At Barça, the two world football superstars formed one of the most prolific duos – then trios, with the arrival of Luis Suarez – in history, compiling goals and assists to offer the Catalan club its fifth League champions in 2015, accompanied by two Spanish league titles (2015, 2016) and three Copa del Rey (2015, 2016, 2017).
–
