Barcelona star Messi remains the club’s talisman, scoring 11 goals from as many appearances to drive the Catalan giants towards the top of the La Liga table.
The Argentina international’s stunning form means that, a year on from Neymar’s exit, the club are coping well.
Neymar has, however, been tipped to return to Barcelona in recent times.
It has been claimed the 26-year-old feels unmotivated over at PSG and regrets his decision to swap the Nou Camp for the Parc des Princes last August.
Barcelona legend Xavi has now opened up about both players.
And the World Cup winner and club icon believes Messi is more mature than Neymar.
He told Super Deportivo de Villa Trinidad: “”They are different.
“I see Leo with great footballing maturity. He does everything well.
“Neymar is a person who has to mature, but he seems like a player with enormous capacity to make a difference.
“Although he could improve, he is among the top players in the world.”
Messi was recently attacked by Argentina legend Diego Maradona.
Maradona hit out at the Barcelona star, taking aim at what he perceives to be a lack of leadership qualities.
But Xavi thinks his criticism was unwarranted.
“I disagree with Maradona,” he added.
“Messi is an incredible leader, he is maybe quiet in the dressing room but he’s an absolute leader. He always wants the ball, he always offers himself, he has personality. He has never hidden.
“I don’t like it when former footballers are too critical with former team-mates. I’m not just talking about Maradona, but in general.
“These footballers who are very critical with their professional team-mates…they have been there and they know the difficulty. I don’t understand the strong criticism against players when you have been there too.”