Football
Jonathan Johnson, PSG correspondent 7y

Neymar must watch his behaviour if he wants to be like Lionel Messi - Lustig

Celtic defender Mikael Lustig says Neymar needs to watch some of his behaviour if he wants to emulate Barcelona legend Lionel Messi.

Neymar was booked for diving and then remonstrating with the referee in Paris Saint-Germain's 5-0 Champions League thrashing of Celtic on Tuesday, which brought tensions to a head with teenage right-back Anthony Ralston, who he apparently snubbed for a handshake after the match, and Lustig believes that Les Parisiens' No. 10 needs to stamp that out of his game.

"It was the same as usual from Neymar," Lustig told the Daily Record. "He is an unbelievable footballer but we have seen the other stuff before and we will see it again.

"I have said before that it is part of his game. He tries to overreact a bit to make the defender step off. We will see it again and again.

"If he wants to be liked as much as Messi, maybe he needs to stop that."

Despite his criticism of Neymar, Lustig admitted that the former Barcelona man is one of the best players in the world, and praised Ralston's efforts to stop him on Tuesday.

"He is up there with the best already," Lustig said of Neymar. "He is so sharp and is an amazing footballer.

"Neymar is probably the toughest opponent in the world right now but Anthony did well."

Lustig and Ralston should face Neymar again when Celtic travel to Paris in late November for the return group stage clash.

Meanwhile, Neymar'sĀ apparent refusal to swap shirts with Ralston has been revealed to be charity-related and not a continuation of the pair's on-pitch trash talking.

Despite Neymar and Ralston's animosity during the match, the Brazil international refused to exchange shirts with his opponent because he had already promised his to the Marina Dalglish Appeal -- not because he wanted to continue the argument.

The charity was set up back in 2005 by the Dalglish family to help those diagnosed with breast cancer.

Legendary former Celtic and Liverpool player Kenny Dalglish played a key role in starting the charity with his wife Marina, and Neymar's shirt is to be used at one of the charity's upcoming events.

The former Barcelona man was simply keeping his word for the Foundation and acknowledged the cause via social media the day after the match.

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