Neymar snubs Lionel Messi when naming the true 'king' of football and it could be controversial

Barcelona and PSG legend Neymar snubbed former teammate Lionel Messi when picking the real 'king' of the beautiful game.

Across his 16 year career, Neymar has played alongside some of the very best players ever to step onto a football pitch including Luis Suarez, Kylian Mbappe, Ronaldinho.

Perhaps the Brazilian's greatest ever teammate, is Messi, whom he played alongside both at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, with the pair making a total of 206 appearances together.

Despite this, Messi isn't the man that Neymar idolises as the true king of football, as the 33-year-old has no doubts over who holds that title.

Every since the early days of his career, football fans have tipped Neymar to go on to become one of the very best to every play the game, with some putting him in the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.

But the Brazilian shocked the world when he decided to leave Barcelona and join Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain, a move that failed to live up to the expectations that followed his world-record transfer fee.

This led to Neymar earning himself the nickname 'the prince who didn't want to be a king,' but when asked about the name, Neymar revealed who the true king of football is.

"It's not that I didn't want to be a king, it's that for me there is only one king and that is Pelé," Neymar explained to 'TheGrefg' Youtube channel

Pele is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. (Image: Getty)

"Many things happened, I had many injuries that cost me a lot in my career and well, God wanted it that way. I have no reason to be sad, on the contrary.

"I am very happy with my story and my life. I achieved almost everything I dreamed of, and I even achieved things I never dreamed of. I am very grateful to God for changing my life, that of my family and my friends . That is the most important thing for me."

With both Pele widely regarded as perhaps the best Brazilian player of all time, it comes as no surprise that he is idolised by Neymar who would have grown up watching footage of the icon lifting the World Cup with Brazil on three occasions.