Tuesday 10 November 2015 06:06, UK
In his weekly column, Sky Sports' Spanish football expert Guillem Balague answers your questions and says Neymar is now the second best player in the world behind Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi.
Neymar was at it again at the weekend, scoring twice, including a spectacular volley as Barcelona beat Villarreal 3-0 at the Nou Camp.
In Lionel Messi's absence, Neymar has become Barcelona's talisman, firing 10 goals in his last seven matches in all competitions and Balague thinks the Brazil international is now just behind his Argentine team-mate in the best player in the world rankings.
Balague also goes onto explain how that could eventually impact on Neymar's future at Barca before discussing the criticism of Rafael Benitez, the future of Diego Simeone and what went wrong for David Moyes at Real Sociedad.
He also gives his thoughts on the future of Cristiano Ronaldo - and the Real Madrid star's new film...
Neymar has 10 goals in his last seven games… Would he have to leave to become the world's best? Other than the absence of Messi, what has contributed to his rise in form? Steve, Madrid
GUILLEM SAYS: Neymar was fantastic against Villarreal. If you see him play he starts on the left and comes inside a lot to get involved with the ball and he has doubled the amount of touches of the ball, assists and goals he had in the same period with Lionel Messi in the side as without him.
In the absence of the injured Messi, Luis Enrique needed someone to step up and do at least some of the job that the he does for the team. But Neymar is a striker, while Messi is the more complete player. He can play as a midfielder or a striker and you have to say Barca are a better team with Messi in the side. However, you have to say Neymar has got the ability to challenge to be the No 1 player in the world.
When Messi comes back, and it's not certain he will be ready for the Clasico, Neymar will humbly move back to the wide areas and start running without the ball. He will run in behind the opposition defences to make Messi better. It's only logical because Messi is the best in the world.
However, the next question is how long can Neymar keep doing this when he knows he has the ability to become the best? That's why there has been contact with Manchester United and there will continue being so.
Barcelona want him to renew his contract this season but the Brazilian forward is not in a rush. That's partly down to the fact he has to decide if he wants to stay with Barcelona or if he wants to move to a club that will make a team for him.
What's interesting is that he is now the second best player in the world, in my opinion. There's Messi in first and now Neymar is in second. Cristiano Ronaldo is at a different level now. Basically he has peaked. I have said this before and got a lot of stick but I think it's pretty obvious to see. He's only scored in one third of the games this season. Ronaldo is now thinking about his future and whether he will be ruled by his heart and go back to Manchester United or be ruled by his head and move to PSG, which is recommended by everyone around him. I think he is getting closer and closer to Paris as time goes by.
How quickly will the critics surround Rafa Benitez after Real lost their first game of the season? Martin, London
GUILLEM SAYS: There have been a lot of criticisms of Rafael Benitez after the defeat to Sevilla and because of the international break they will continue.
The critics will say he is not the manager for Real Madrid. For me, the way the players behaved in the game against Sevilla, especially in the second half, was embarrassing. In the opening stages they played well but from the moment Sevilla conceded Real dropped deeper and stopped playing.
Also, at the end there was no pride. They were not fighting for the ball and they did not look hurt trying to turn the game around. What does the manager have to do with that if the players are not playing for you? It was really sad. There were olés chanted from the stands and that was really hurtful for Real Madrid but especially for Benitez. We will have to wait and see how he comes out of it.
Quite clearly he had a game plan which worked with lesser players because they worked really hard without the ball. When the other players come in and the front three is Isco, Gareth Bale and Ronaldo the team gets parted into two. No team in the world can win things or win an intense game away at Sevilla when three players are not defending. It's just not possible anymore, even if you are Real Madrid.
Diego Simeone is being linked with a move to Chelsea in the English press… how likely is it, and is he the right sort of fit for Chelsea? Apparently his assistant manager German Burgos has learned English. Paul, south London
GUILLEM SAYS: I was with Atletico Madrid last week and they assured me Diego Simeone is at the Vincente Calderon to stay. The plan is that he stays for a long time and with the new contract it should guarantee he stays for a few years at least.
Also, Simeone hasn't prepared himself to be in England just yet. I know that he is learning English but very slowly. Atletico Madrid are very assured that he will stay, despite the report linking him to Chelsea.
How would you assess David Moyes' time at Real Sociedad? Was his sacking deserved or should he have been given more time? Where next? Alan, Glasgow
GUILLEM SAYS: There are a few reasons as to why David Moyes will not continue at Real Sociedad.
Firstly, he tried to introduce a lot of changes to make the team closer to what he understood should be a modern club. However, Real Sociedad is a club with a lot of peculiarities, not only Basque but from Guipuzcua. It's a different mentality to the rest of Spain. You need to know how people think and how people talk. He didn't get close to that reality. It's difficult because you need to have the language but at the same time you have to win.
He prioritised one over the other. It was difficult for him to learn the language so he prioritised winning but with just a 29 per cent win ratio it's not good enough in the eyes of the Real Sociedad board. He got 36 points in 38 games which is not a bad return but it's not great.
On the back of all this, I would suggest to British coaches to have a look at what's happened, why it has happened and why there are not more British coaches abroad. Whoever is curious about it and has their self-criticism mode on may learn from the whole experience. The rest probably won't.
Have you seen Ronaldo's new film? What do you think of it? Paulo, Manchester
GUILLEM SAYS: I'm seeing the film later and will report back. However, if you want to see Ronaldo by Ronaldo go and see the movie. If you want to know about a Ronaldo that hasn't got much control of the stuff that comes from him and Jorge Mendes, get the book.
I'm not saying one is better than the other. All I am saying is that they are different versions. One controlled and the other one much more free. It's your choice!
