Barcelona

Alfonso Perez hails Neymar form

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 16 November 2015

Former Barcelona striker Alfonso Perez claims that Neymar's form this season has "made people forget" about Lionel Messi, who remains on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Former Barcelona striker Alfonso Perez has claimed that Neymar's form for Luis Enrique's side this season has "made people forget" about Lionel Messi, who is still on the sidelines.

Barcelona have been without Messi since the Argentine suffered knee ligament damage at the end of September.

In Messi's absence, however, Neymar has scored 10 times for the Catalan giants and formed a deadly partnership with Luis Suarez in the final third.

Perez has said that the Brazil captain's performances have meant that less people have been talking about Messi's current absence.

"The injury [to Messi] has shown that Neymar and [Luis] Suarez are able to carry the team on their backs," Perez, who represented Barcelona between 2000 and 2002, told Marca.

"Neymar's making even more of a difference. It seemed that the absence of Messi could undermine Barca, but Neymar, at the level he's shown, has made people forget about Messi."

Messi is expected to be on the Barcelona bench for Saturday's El Clasico against Real Madrid.