Former Brazil international Juninho Pernambucano has advised compatriot Neymar not to attempt to fill Lionel Messi’s boots and try to stick to his own game.

Messi suffered a knee injury in a league clash against Las Palmas and has been ruled out of action for up to two months. In the absence of the club talisman, the goalscoring responsibility has increased on Neymar and Uruguay international Luis Suarez.




The Brazilian had five shots on goal in Barcelona’s league defeat against Sevilla this weekend, but he failed to get on the scoresheet.

Juninho, who had a stellar career with Lyon and was known for his free-kick prowess during his prime, has advised the 23-year-old to stick his own game and not try to emulate Messi's role at the club.
 


"His thought process shouldn't be, "I'm going to fill Messi's boots, I'm going to shoot, score all the goals and make everything happen'”, the 40-year-old was quoted as saying by Marca.

relatedNewsStory

“That cannot be the case.

“He mustn't obsess over it”, he concluded.

Neymar joined Barcelona in the summer of 2013 and played a stellar role in their last campaign when they won a treble of the league title, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

This term he has netted four league goals so far.