Wayne Rooney delivers harsh take on Neymar Jr: ‘he was still overshadowed by Messi’

Manchester United and England all-time leading scorer Wayne Rooney has reignited debate over Neymar Jr.’s place among football’s elite, bluntly stating that the Brazilian forward has never reached the top, top tier occupied by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Appearing on the latest episode of the Overlap podcast, Rooney was asked for an “unpopular opinion” and did not hesitate to target the 32-year-old. “I like Neymar but I’ve never seen him as a top, top player. Like, Messi, Ronaldo, that kind of category. He was good at Barcelona, but he was still overshadowed by Messi,” Rooney said.

The comments triggered an immediate backlash on social media, with supporters arguing that Neymar’s trophy haul and individual brilliance place him closer to the sport’s summit than Rooney concedes. Between 2013 and 2017 the forward scored 105 goals in 186 games for Barcelona, formed the famed ‘MSN’ trident alongside Messi and Luis Suárez, and played a central role in the club’s 2015 Champions League triumph, including the remarkable 6-1 quarter-final comeback against PSG.

After sealing a world-record transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar struck 118 goals in 173 appearances and helped carry the French side to their first-ever Champions League final in 2020. Those numbers leave him fourth on PSG’s all-time scoring chart, while his 79 international goals have taken him past Pelé as Brazil’s leading marksman.

Yet Rooney’s critique centres on consistency at the very highest level, a standard complicated by Neymar’s injury record. Since 2017 he has missed 135 PSG matches, with ankle and adductor problems forcing a shift from explosive winger to deeper creative roles. A torn ACL suffered two months after joining Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal sidelined him for an entire season; subsequent setbacks limited him to a handful of appearances before a return to boyhood club Santos, where he recently underwent meniscus surgery.

Despite the physical setbacks, Neymar’s legacy remains significant. He delivered multiple Ligue 1 Player of the Season displays, collected a raft of domestic honours and, for many, stands as the only truly elite performer in a Brazil side that has struggled for global impact since 2002. His absence from Carlo Ancelotti’s latest squad for March’s friendlies prompted a public plea—“Hey Carlo Ancelotti, what about me?”—and teammate Raphinha has since backed him for a 2026 World Cup place.

Rooney’s assessment is unlikely to dent Neymar’s statistical impact, but it underscores a lingering perception: that the forward’s brightest moments still flickered in the reflected glow of Messi’s brilliance. Whether history will judge that verdict fair or excessively harsh may depend on what Neymar can still produce on the road to 2026.