Neymar second best only to Messi'

By Ignasi Oliva

EXCLUSIVE: Victor Munoz has hailed the four-time Ballon d'Or winner as the best player in the world and claims the Argentina superstar can get even better in the years to come

Former Barcelona player Victor Munoz believes Neymar is the closest player to Lionel Messi in the current game, but says nobody else is anywhere near the Argentina star.

Neymar is unavailable for Barca's Champions League clash against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday night after picking up a groin injury in Tuesday's sesssion and the Brazil forward will be missed after he hit new heights as Messi took time out to recover from a knee problem in October and November.

"Neymar is the one who is closest to Messi's level," Munoz told Goal in an exclusive interview. "The rest are a considerable distance behind him."

Munoz played at Barcelona between 1981 and 1988 and featured in the Catalans' first-ever trip to Bayer Leverkusen - their rivals on Wednesday. And Messi is set to feature from the start as he looks to build up his fitness after an eight-week period on the sidelines.

"That's for Luis Enrique to decide [whether Messi starts or not]," Munoz said. "It might be good for him to play only half the match or to not play at all and be recovered for the game against Deportivo [at the weekend], because that's a more important game than the one against Leverkusen. The coach handles those things."

In 2012, Messi famously hit five goals in one game against Leverkusen in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

"It's very difficult to repeat that, but he's capable of it," Munoz added. "Scoring five goals is a feat you don't see every day and it's harder and harder to achieve."

However, the former Zaragoza and Getafe coach believes the Argentine can continue to improve aspects of his game - despite everything he has already achieved with Barcelona.

"He hasn't had too many serious injuries, so I think he has a few years left at the top," he said. "I think he is still improving because he is able to and because he has the right attitude. He can get better, especially in terms of precision. He can be even more precise and and also improve his decision-making.

"As the years go by, Messi is becoming excellent at distributing the play, but I believe he can still get even better in those aspects."

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