Neymar Jnr: Aged 24, Neymar has more club goals than what Messi and Cristiano had for club and country

Brazilian national team captain and Barcelona forward Neymar turned 24 on Friday.

Two of the greatest football players in the world today, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Júnior, celebrate their birthdays on February 5. The Real Madrid superstar turned 31, while the Brazilian is 7 years younger.

The former player of Sporting and Manchester United is already considered to be one of the greatest players of all time, and his numbers speak for itself; 518 goals in 774 career games, and 343 goals in 328 matches for Real Madrid only. Meanwhile, Neymar reached the FIFA Ballon d'Or podium for the first time in his career for his performances in 2015. He finished behind Cristiano Ronaldo and club-mate Lionel Messi, who won the award for a record fifth time.

Neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi has more goals than the current poster boy of Brazil when we consider the figures at the age of 24. Cristiano Ronaldo was in his final months at United with that age in 2009, and had scored 132 goals [111 for clubs and 21 for Portugal]. On the other hand, Messi had 197 career goals [180 for Barça and 17 for Argentina] when he was 24. Today, the Argentine maestro has 485 goals in 614 matches. However, aged 24, Neymar has more club goals [209] than what Messi and Cristiano had for club and country at that age. In addition, he has scored 46 goals for the five-time World champions, which takes his tally to 255 as a professional footballer.

 source:sambafoot.com