Rafael van der Vaart has jumped to the defence of Atletico Madrid striker Memphis Depay.
Depay missed a penalty in Holland's thrashing by France in their opening Euro qualifier.
But Van der Vaart said: "Of course he misses penalties, but it's also sad that there's no one else willing or able to take them.
"Look, I think the same with Messi. He is the best player of all time, but he also missed a lot of penalties. He gets behind the ball every time, but there is no one who says: 'let me shoot it'. I don't compare Memphis with Messi, but he's a bit like our Messi.
"It is true that he had a bad game on Friday, but he is still our best player. And I believe one thing: if it had been Dirk Kuijt, he would have received very different comments in the Netherlands. With him it is a bit: you like him or you don't like him.
"I want to say that when he plays badly, he immediately takes a beating from everyone. The first one who is always blamed is Memphis."
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