Barcelona forward Neymar Jr has admitted he does not watch football matches on television and hasn’t seen a full Real Madrid game all season, as per the reports on Marca. Neymar is enjoying his best spell with the Catalan side in Lionel Messi’s absence, but he has dismissed his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or.
The 23-year-old has so far been instrumental in Barca’s mission to defend the La Liga title this season, scoring 9 goals in 10 appearances this season. Neymar has flourished in the absence of Argentina ace man Messi who is set to miss El Clasico clash against Real Madrid this month with a knee injury.
Neymar’s striking partner Luis Suarez has also been in sensational form this term and both players have now netted 23 goals between them. Despite being one of the world’s most celebrated players, the Brazil captain has revealed that the when not helping his teammates win titles, he prefers to avoid anything to do with the sport and not watch football matches on TV.
“I don't like to watch football games when I’m not playing for Barcelona,” he said in an interview.
“I don't watch Real Madrid games. I don't like to watch other teams. I can't opine about something I don't see. It isn't because they're Real Madrid, it's the same with Santos, except when it's a final or a big game.”
If the former Santos forward continues to perform at this level till the end of this calendar year, he could well be named in the top 3 list for football’s most prestigious individual honour – Ballon d’Or. But according to Neymar, he isn’t really bothered about the award and he remains focused at winning titles with his club.
Neymar is currently topping the chart for La Liga’s top scorer while teammate Suarez is trailing the Brazillian in the list by a goal. Los Blancos’ Ronaldo is also tied with Suarez at 8 goals this season.
“For me the important thing is to win titles.” he added.
“The Ballon d'Or is always between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, players from another planet. Leo and Cristiano are in a tussle for that as they are both extraordinary players. I don’t feature in that, I just carry on doing my job and try and secure titles for the team. I don't pay attention to this things, I want to help to my partners.”