Ronaldinho: Neymar will surpass Messi as world's best

 RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Ronaldinho says his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi will one day be overtaken¹ as the world's best player by Brazil starlet Neymar.

Ronaldinho said he expected Messi to win the Ballon d'Or for a record fourth consecutive² time in January ahead of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo but Neymar will be the best in the future.

"Cristiano has been making history for many years now, but Messi is the best in the world, and one day Neymar will be the best," Ronaldinho told ESPN.

At 20, Neymar has already scored 54 goals from 102 first-team appearances for Brazilian top-flight club Santos. He has also netted 17 times in 27 matches for Brazil's national team.

Ronaldinho paid tribute³ to Messi, who on Sunday became the highest goalscorer in a calendar year by surpassing⁴ German great Gerd Muller's record of 85 set in 1972.

"For me Messi is the best in the world," he added. "For the last few years he has played at a level of football we have never seen before.

"I'm very proud to speak of him, because I was there when he started off and now he is the best in the world, it makes me so happy.

"The game I remember the most is when he scored his first goal, because it came from my pass and I remember this game most vividly⁵ because he was just getting started.

"I had the chance to be there and live that moment. I'm very happy that his first professional goal came from a pass from me. Messi knows that there will always be a place in my heart for him."?

1 overtaken   

v.追上，赶上，超过( overtake的过去分词 )；（不愉快的事情）突然发生；突然降临；（在数量或重要性方面）大于

参考例句：

• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Exports have already overtaken last year's figure. 出口量已超过了去年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

3 tribute   

n.颂词，称赞，(表示敬意的)礼物；贡品

参考例句：

• She accepted their tribute graciously.她慈祥地接受了他们的致意。
• Many conquered nations had to pay tribute to the rulers of ancient Rome.许多被征服的国家必须向古罗马的统治者朝贡。

4 surpassing   

adj. 胜过的, 卓越的, 优秀的 动词surpass的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Social research nowadays has a practical urgency surpassing even that of cancer research. 当今社会研究的现实迫切性甚至超过对癌症的研究。
• These adjectives mean surpassing all others in power, influence, or position. 这些形容词的意思是指在力量、影响或地位方面超出其他一切。

5 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。