He told popular Brazilian YouTube channel Desimpedidos: ‘The two who are above all others today are Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.
‘For all modesty, today I am the best player in the world — because they are from another planet.’
As Neymar finished third in the Ballon d’Or 2017 voting, he can claim to be the third-best player behind Ronaldo, who won his fifth Golden Ball in that vote, and Messi, who finished well behind in second place.
He added: “I don’t want to be the best player in the world, I want to win the World Cup. “Winning the trophy would make myself, my family and my country so happy.”