Barcelona ace Lionel Messi claims he is getting on well with new signing Neymar
Messi & Neymar are getting on well (©GettyImages)
Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has insisted he gets on well with Brazilian starlet Neymar.
Neymar, 21, is a new signing at the Nou Camp, having arrived in May from Santos for a reported fee of more than £48million .
And despite many at the time of the transfer questioning if two such mercurial and individual young talents would be able to successfully and harmoniously co-exist in the same team, Messi insists the two players are getting on well and that Neymar's arrival is a huge positive for the Catalan giants as they seek to successfully defend their La Liga crown.
"There’s no problem between us; these are things that come out of the press,"Messi told reporters in Kuala Lumpur after the two individuals starred in a 7-1 demolition of the Thai national team.
"We get on with each other on and off the pitch and we’re getting to know each other little by little.
"We haven’t played much together. But he’ll bring a lot of joy to the club, to us and to the people."
Barcelona finished 15 points ahead of fierce rivals Real Madrid on their way to the Spanish title last season, and new boss Gerardo Martino will be hoping to retain domestic bragging rights as well as fully re-asserting the club's authority on the European stage during the coming campaign.
He will also want to banish the painful memories of last year's 7-0 aggregate mauling at the hands of German treble-winners Bayern Munich.