Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci played at the back during the UEFA Champions League final last season, and had the difficult task to try and stop Barcelona’s trident, Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar.
Nearly six months later, the Italian defender says Barcelona are even stronger and also highlighted the evolution of Neymar. Barzagli sees the Brazilian captain as a “phenomenon” and also thinks he’s on the same level as Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo. He said: “For me, Neymar is a phenomenon like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He is at the same level. I just put Messi a little above the others, but Neymar deserves to be there on the podium. The big difference for Barcelona is three of their strikers up front, which is the world’s best. Compared to our team, Barça haven’t changed considering last year, but we’ve changed a lot. So perhaps the difference is even greater this year.”