Neymar’s father confident his son will be back ‘at his best’ for World Cup final, if Brazil reach it, and sends message to Pele on behalf of Selecao superstar

Brazil star Neymar’s father ‘believes his son will take to the field in the last game’ to help his country win the World Cup.

Neymar Santos Sr has spoken to talkSPORT’s Jim White for an exclusive interview about his son, who is hoping to be crowned world champion for the first time in his already glittering career.

The Selecao are five-time World Cup winners, the most of any country in the world. However, the South Americans haven’t won it since 2002 – when Neymar was 10 years old.

Tite’s side are favorites to lift the trophy but were dealt a blow after their first group stage draw against Serbia as Neymar – who scored 75 goals in 122 appearances – was taken off early after his be injured in the ankle.

Despite the winger’s absence, Brazil qualified for the round of 16 with one game to play, beating both Switzerland and Serbia.

And Neymar’s father has suggested his son will soon return to play for Brazil and be in top form in the final, if the country manages it.

“The most important thing is that he can come back on the pitch and be at his best. When he was injured before and came back, he was at his best. He will do his best,” said an interpreter at talkSPORT.

“As a father, it’s not common to talk and suspect how much he loves his son, it’s complicated to talk about Neymar.

“But everyone knows that Neymar is very important, a big influence on the pitch and all his colleagues, when Neymar is on the pitch it’s totally different because he’s number 1.

“We know the importance of Neymar for the group.”

He continued: “I think Neymar will be on the pitch again in the last game and he will do his best to win the World Cup with his colleagues in the Brazilian team.

“He will do his best to help them and win the competition together.”

Neymar’s father went on to say that his son absolutely loves his fans and knows how much support he receives from the UK.

One of Neymar’s other Brazilian football icons, Pele, is currently hospitalized due to illness.

And Neymar Sr has said his son hopes the country legend – who has scored an incredible 1,000 career goals and won the World Cup three times – can improve soon.

“For everyone in the world, Pelé is the most iconic player and he’s an incredible man and an incredible football player,” he said.

“People around the world love Pelé. [Neymar] hopes that Pelé will come back soon and be well and he wishes Pelé the best.

Brazil’s final Group G game against Cameroon kicks off at 7pm on Friday – live on talkSPORT.