Santos attacker and Real Madrid target Neymar claims Barcelona are the best side in the world and says he is eager to take on the Champions League holders later this year.

The Brazilian side won the 2011 Copa Libertadores to qualify for the Club World Cup and they could well end up meeting Barcelona in the final.

“Barcelona are the best team in the world and they’ve got the world’s best player in their side, but we’re going to play our own football when we meet them,” Neymar told www.fifa.com in an interview.

“If we do end up playing Barcelona, we’d like to go toe-to-toe with them. Taking on Barcelona is a very tough task. I don’t think there’s any particular tactics you can use. We’ll just have to pray, ask for God’s help and give it our best shot.”

The Brazil international was quick to point out that Santos will have to survive the semi-final first, though.

“Before we can even think about the final or possibly playing Barcelona, we’ll have to play another very important and risky game first. Of course we want to get to the final.”

The 19-year-old is continually being linked with a move away from Santos and Real Madrid are keen to lure the attacker to the Santiago Bernabeu. Nevertheless, his current club are determined to hold on to the player until after the Club World Cup.