Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff has suggested that the Spanish club should sell Lionel Messi following the acquisition of Neymar.
The Catalan club recently paid a reported €57 million in order to bring the Brazilian star, who is currently representing his country at the FIFA Confederations Cup, to the Camp Nou from Santos.
And Cruyff, who won a string of titles as both a player and manager with Barca, believes pairing Neymar with four-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi will not be easy.
"With Neymar on board, I would have planned for the possibility of selling Messi, and some would agree with that, others not," he told Marca.
"You are talking about a team, its players, the things around it. There are too many things at stake. That’s why it’s so difficult to manage such a top-class squad."
The former Netherlands international also insisted that he would not have brought the 21-year-old Neymar to the club.
"I wouldn’t have signed Neymar. We’ll have to wait and see – it could turn out well or badly. It’s a risk," he added.
"It’s like the free-kicks. Neymar is very good at taking them, and Messi has already shown he is. Who’s going to take them?
"Or the fact that Neymar and Barcelona are with Nike while Leo is with Adidas. These are situations that could cause problems.
"We’ll have to wait and see. He is talented but we’ll have to see how he gets on with everyone – that’s a problem."
