Following his late heroics inspiring Barcelona's incredible comeback victory against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night, Neymar has rightfully garnered a lot of headlines around Europe. But where's the fun in simply allowing Barcelona's Brazilian sensation to bask in his plaudits?
He's still not as good as Scunthorpe legend Ian Baraclough.
I'm going to bet good money the name Ian Baraclough means little to you and it's not surprising, given that it sounds like the name normally you'd ordinarily associate with a bloke who fits boilers and bleeds radiators for a living, rather than someone who has featured on EA Sports' most popular video game franchise.
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We're not so sure Neymar's finishing agrees with EA's ratings system
Credit: FC Barcelona
However, eight years ago, Baraclough, the former defender/midfielder, who also enjoyed spells with Leicester City and Queens Park Rangers, was featured on FIFA 10 and was 'rewarded' with the worst stats in the history of the game. All except in one area.
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Baraclough could bang them in for fun, just as long as you weren't relying on him to do anything else at all.
You see, the now Oldham Athletic assistant manager was rated a paltry 11 for pace, dribbling, passing, heading and defending yet held a mighty rating of 88 for shooting.
To put that into context, on FIFA 17, La Liga, Champions League and Olympic gold medal winning striker Neymar has been awarded just 84 for his shooting ability, by EA Sports.
Who would you trust more in a one on one situation? Image: Dream Team FC
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Baraclough lifted the League Two title in 2005 and League One title with 'The Iron' in 2007 before reaching the play-offs for the same division two years later, following relegation from The Championship. He would go onto briefly manage the club following the departure of Nigel Adkins in September 2010. He was relieved of his duties in March of the following year, following a 3-0 away defeat to Preston North End, which saw Scunthorpe slide into the Championship relegation zone.
Before becoming the assistant manager at Oldham, Baraclough enjoyed spells in charge of Sligo Rovers in Ireland, where he lifted the League of Ireland title, FAI Cup and Setanta Sports Cup, and Motherwell, in Scotland.
As a player, he scored 75 goals in 605 games. Only marginally less than Neymar's record of 235 goals in 400 games.
(H/T Dream Team FC)
Topics: FIFA 17, Football, Barcelona, Neymar, EA Sports