The toughest opponents in sport are usually the ones who make winning genuinely hard. Neymar, the Brazilian forward, summed up exactly that feeling about his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi. "Messi is a great player," he said. "Playing against him is not good, it is bad." The line is funny on its surface, but it captures something real that plenty of elite athletes understand, that facing extraordinary talent is frustrating precisely because it forces you to be better. Coming from someone who spent years playing alongside Messi before eventually facing him as a genuine rival, the line carries a bit more weight than a simple throwaway joke.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
