5 incredible stats that prove Neymar is irreplaceable at Barcelona

2) Most fouled player in Europe since move to Barcelona

Opponents just cannot contain Neymar when he is on song

One of the first things that struck you when you watched Neymar in full flow when he was just a teenager making a name for himself in Brazil was his ability to dribble past players at will. Brazilians and samba football go hand-in-hand but it was Neymar who took it to the next level.

Here was a kid who glided past defenders with the ease of a man who seemed to slow down time just for himself. And after his move to Barcelona, he continued to thrive with his bag of skills.

Neymar has been fouled a total of 431 times since his move to the Camp Nou - more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues!

As Barcelona slowly evolved from a possession-based team to one that played direct football, Neymar became even more prominent in the Catalan club's attack. And the defenders still struggle to nick the ball off of him when he is in full flow.

It's one of the reasons why Barcelona have perfected the art of scoring goals from free-kicks. They know that once Neymar (and Messi) enter the final third, the risk of stopping them increases and free-kicks (along with bookings) are sure to follow.