Neymar not aiming to overtake Lionel Messi as 'world's greatest'

Messi is bidding for a fifth Ballon d'Or this year after Cristiano Ronaldo picked up back-to-back gongs to move to three on his own.

Having played a leading role in Barca's run to a Champions League, Liga and the Copa del Rey treble with 58 goals last season, Messi appears to be a favourite to reclaim the crown, but could face competition in the form of Neymar, who scored 39 goals and is now "fully settled on the left-hand side of the Barca attack," according to Barca's official website.

"It is not my goal to try to surpass Messi," said Neymar on SporTV.

"I am just trying to follow my own career path. I want to keep on doing the things that I have been doing, to win titles and to achieve my goals.

"But I am not attempting to be better than any one else. My goal is to keep improving myself."

Neymar is suspended for Brazil's World Cup qualifying matches against Chile and Venezuela after his red card against Colombia at the Copa America, but will be back when his country meets Argentina.

"Messi is a big star. It is not a good thing to be playing against him, but not necessarily a bad thing either.

"But I will do everything within my powers to win. It will be a tough game, but the truth is that all qualifiers will be tough."