Neymar has proven to be one of the most reliable Champions
League performers since joining Barcelona in the 2013-14 season.
The 25-year-old, who has been heavily linked to a move to
PSG in recent weeks, has scored 21 goals and assisted 15 others -- numbers that
situate him among the best players in the past four years.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo (55), Lionel Messi (35), Robert
Lewandowski (29) and Thomas Muller (23) have scored more Champions League goals
than Neymar during that span.
In terms of assists, only Ronaldo -- who has set up 16 goals
-- has more.
If PSG do end up adding the Brazil international, they know
what he can do. Neymar scored two goals in Barcelona's stunning 6-1 victory
over PSG on March 8 -- one in the 88th minute and another on a penalty in the
91st -- that allowed the Blaugrana to advance 6-5 on aggregate to the
quarterfinals.
Neymar joined Ronaldo and Messi as the top scorers in the
Champions League in 2014-15, when all three players each scored 10 goals. He
was difficult to stop that year, scoring in eight of Barca's 12 games --
including a goal in the 97th minute of a 3-1 victory against Juventus to put
the game beyond doubt. The score effectively handed Barcelona the Champions
League title.
He also netted a brace in the second leg of the quarterfinal
against PSG and the second leg of the semifinal against Bayern Munich.
Despite all the scoring, the forward's only hat trick in the
Champions League dates back to 2013 -- the first game in which he scored.
Neymar tallied three goals in a 6-1 victory against Celtic in the group stage
that year, scoring just before half-time and then adding two more.
In total, Barca have only lost twice in the 15 games where
Neymar has scored, demonstrating his value to any club hoping to secure him for
Europe's top competition.
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