Barcelona boss Luis Enrique believes his Brazilian forward Neymar should be on the three-man shortlist for the UEFA Best Player in Europe award ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The governing body for football in Europe announced the final three for the award are the Los Blancos forward along with Barcelona pair Leo Messi and Luis Suarez. The winner will be announced on August 27 – the same day the draw is made for the group stage of this season’s Champions League.
Ronaldo hit 61 goals for his club last season – a career best. He is just 11 short of overhauling club legend Raul as Real’s leading scorer. Messi and Suarez, meanwhile, helped the Catalan side to the treble last season.
And speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Enrique questioned where Neymar was as he felt the Brazilian was as equally deserving in the place on the shortlist as his other two forwards.
“Who decided that Neymar isn’t one of the candidates for the Uefa trophy? I think it should be Neymar, Messi and Suarez, without a doubt,” he stated.
He went on to say that he feels his team is the best in Europe and they are aiming for the sextuple this season.
“The pre-season schedule was set up so we can be the best we can be. We have to be competitive from the start of the season and still be the team to beat. I would also say the same in Europe.
“The sextuple is a goal we have in mind and one that motivates us but we are focused on is winning the fifth title first – the sixth is still far away.”
