PELE reckons Neymar plays more like Lionel Messi than Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neymar, 26, finished third behind Ronaldo and Messi for the Ballon d’Or in 2015 and 2017, and has been compared to both players – especially back home in Brazil.
Three-time World Cup winner Pele claims Neymar’s ability as a playmaker is more in line with Barcelona forward Messi.
He also thinks the Real Madrid superstar’s finishing reminds him of former Brazil team-mates Vava and Coutinho, who were both part of the 1962 World Cup winning side.
Pele told ESPN: “Neymar has been compared with Cristiano Ronaldo.
“So I’ve said several times, told friends, in Europe, given interviews… Cristiano Ronaldo is an excellent player, he could be like our Vava, our Coutinho, the finisher.
Most read in Football
“Neymar is really more of a Messi-style, one who constructs the play, but scores the goal also.”
The former Santos star stunned world football when he walked away from Barca to join moneybags Paris Saint-Germain last summer for £198m.
CRISTIANO WHO? Peter Crouch had never heard of Cristiano Ronaldo – the England team more worried about Ricardo Quaresma
PSG are walking Ligue 1 and during his first season in France, Neymar has been linked with a move back to Spain to join Real Madrid.
The Brazilian is recovering from a foot injury but is expected to be fit to lead his country’s charge to land their sixth World Cup triumph in Russia.
Leave a comment