Neymar Insists He's Happy for Former Teammate Lionel Messi as Argentina Qualify for the World Cup

Paris Saint-Germain poster boy Neymar has claimed that he is happy his old teammate Lionel Messi will be in Russia next year for the World Cup.

It had been widely-reported that Neymar's incredibly high profile departure from Barcelona this summer was as a result of Messi's legendary stature at the Camp Nou - with the Brazilian deciding he would have a greater chance at individual success if he wasn't in the Argentine's shadow.

Messi ensured Argentina's participation in next year's World Cup in Russia after scoring an outstanding hat-trick to help claim a vital 3-1 victory over Ecuador on Tuesday night.

"I'm happy for him," Neymar said, as quoted by the Ligue 1 official website. 

Image by Andrew Headspeath

"I'm happy to see a friend participate in such an important competition. I also have friends in the Chile team but we're men. We have to play to win every game."

The Brazilian was involved in a thrilling game himself during the international break, claiming an assist in his country's 3-0 victory over Chile to confirm that the likes of Alexis Sánchez and Arturo Vidal, the latter going on to retire from international football after the match, would not be present in Russia next summer.