Pele’s huge claims that Neymar was a better player than Lionel Messi probably came from a good place, but it arguably led to his compatriot’s widespread skepticism throughout his career.
The three-time World Cup winner made a stunning claim in April 2012 when a 20-year-old Neymar was starting to make serious waves with Brazilian side Santos.
Speaking at an event celebrating Santos’ centenary, Pele said: “There’s always this comparison with Diego Maradona, saying he’s better than Pele. Now some say Messi is better than Pele.
“Well, first he has to be better than Neymar, which he isn’t yet. He has more experience.”
The comments certainly raised eyebrows, but just over a year later Neymar secured a big-money transfer to Barcelona and thus became teammates with Messi – a perfect chance to see if one of the greatest Game players had a point.
Despite netting 15 goals and 15 assists, Neymar’s opening season at Barca was slow, but that didn’t stop Brazilian fans from pinning their hopes on the then 22-year-old Neymar in their Champions League Cup. home world in 2014.
It seemed justified when the striker scored four goals in his three group matches as the Selecao progressed to the knockout stages.
Narrow wins in the round of 16 and quarter-finals kept Brazil dreaming of World Cup No.6 alive – but Neymar suffered a fractured Neymar vertebra in the quarter-final win over Colombia, which means they should do it without their star man.
They did not do it. A 7-1 defeat at the hands of eventual winners Germany in the semi-finals saw Brazil’s hopes go up in smoke in truly spectacular fashion.
In Russia, four years later, Brazil went through to the quarter-finals with Neymar, who had just recovered from a long ankle injury, scoring just twice in five matches.
At this point, it became clear that Pele’s grand claims were far from reality, with Neymar failing to reach the same stratospheric heights as Messi.
There’s no shame in that, of course, but football fans are fickle. The player has even been called ‘overrated’ by talkSPORT’s Jason Cundy on several occasions.
An Olympic gold medal and the Confederations Cup are all Neymar has to show for his efforts with the national team – he was injured when Brazil won the Copa America in 2019.
However, he heads into the upcoming World Cup finals in decent form and with 15 goals and 12 assists in 20 appearances for his club this season. Things should be different for him and Brazil this time.
Brazil, now coached by Tite, is a “real unit playing with the spirit of the club team”, writes Gabriel Marcotti, a philosophy at odds with their approach in 2014.
“Tite has done a masterful job with Brazil, ensuring that egos are checked when entering the dressing room and that the Selecao are a real unit playing with the spirit of a club team, rather than just as a collection of the best footballers in the country,” Marcotti wrote in ESPN.
Marcotti adds that their disappointing exit in 2018 and a loss to Argentina in the 2021 Copa America final allowed the team to avoid the usual recriminations at home, suggesting there is still confidence that does the manager. In fact, those two defeats are the only times Brazil have lost in competitive matches under Tite.
They are bookmakers’ favorites to emerge victorious in Qatar and even Messi believes Brazil are capable of going all the way.
“We always say the same big teams… but, if I have to choose, Brazil and France are the two big candidates to win the World Cup,” Messi told DIRECTV Sports, as quoted by ESPN.
“They had the same group [of players] for a long time, works well. France, apart from the last Euros when they were eliminated [in the last 16] and have done poorly, they have awesome players.
“They have a clear idea and the same coach [Didier Deschamps]. Brazil is a bit the same [under Tite].”
And if Brazil go all the way, you can bet Neymar will play a huge role there and be a certified national hero, even if he’s not as good as Messi.
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