Abdoulaye Doucoure has compared Dwight McNeil to Lionel Messi.
In an Instagram video posted by Everton, the midfielder gave McNeil the hilarious nickname, ‘McMessi’.
The winger made his long-awaited comeback at the weekend as he made a cameo appearance during Everton’s 2-2 draw with Sheffield United.
The Toffees have certainly been missing McNeil as he sat on the sidelines following an ankle ligament injury that he picked up in a pre-season friendly against Stoke City in July.
The 23-year-old hadn’t featured for the senior team since the final day of the 2022/23 season, when a 1-0 win over Bournemouth kept them in the Premier League.
McNeil was one of the stars of a very difficult campaign on Merseyside, with his reunion with Sean Dyche seeing his form rapidly improve.
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The forward ended the season as Everton’s top goalscorer after netting seven goals and providing three assists in the top flight.
Doucoure was keen to show his appreciation for his teammate, labelling him ‘McMessi’ when asked to respond to each player’s name with just one word.
Doucoure loves Dwight ‘McMessi’ McNeil and ‘crazy’ Jordan Pickford
The 30-year-old also called Jordan Pickford ‘crazy’ – most likely referring to his loud voice and crazy personality on the pitch.
Doucoure’s comments come after the goalkeeper made a superb double save against the Blades, with Pickford’s reaction going viral after he put the tips of his fingers together and performed an ‘Italian’ gesture why clutching onto the ball in the dying minutes of the game.
Words for other players included ‘dedicated’ Seamus Coleman, ‘strong’ James Tarkowski, ‘honest’ Sean Dyche and ‘talented’ James Rodriguez.