Jose Mourinho has said that Neymar must achieve success with Brazil, before he can be compared with Pele.
Neymar
has already staked a claim to being one of the best players in the
world, having dominated Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain when healthy
and achieved success at Barcelona.
However, the Brazil forward’s exploits on the international stage, have not matched his domestic success.
Though
he has taken home Olympic Gold medal and triumphed in the
Confederations Cup, success in the Copa America and World Cup have
eluded him.
Neymar was recently named by Placar as the country’s
greatest player since Pele, drawing criticism as it ignored other
Selecao greats like Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Zico and Ronaldinho.
Asked by DAZN about the controversy, Mourinho said: “Neymar is a fantastic talent and nobody can doubt that.
“He came to Europe and won immediately.
“But
I think they forgot players that were the best of the world at some
point, such as Ronaldo and Rivaldo, just citing two, and I could
remember more. They also came to Europe and were fantastic, but beyond
that, they passed through this special situation in a country’s life
that is succeeding on the international level.
“Neymar will keep
fighting to be on Europe’s elite, where he already is, and this [winning
with Brazil] will continue to be a dream for him.”
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