Neymar compares himself to Zico and bets on Vini Jr. in the national team – 09/03/2023 – Sport

Football was fair to Messi by allowing the player to win the World Cup after living “hell” at PSG (Paris Saint-Germain), agreed Neymar.

Now, the number 10 of the Brazilian national team hopes that the same will happen to him, who played in three World Cups without lifting the cup. The athlete compared himself with Zico when he stated that the title, however, does not justify the quality and gift of an athlete.

“Obviously, I hope that one day I can achieve my biggest dream, which is to win the World Cup. This is obvious, but sometimes it doesn’t happen”, he said in an interview with Sport Espetacular.

“We have a guy in Brazil who is a top idol, one of the greatest names in the country’s history, who is Zico, and he doesn’t have a World Cup. That doesn’t justify the quality and gift he had. That It’s the same for me,” he added.

The player says he was happy for the Argentine, but also sad to see him live what he called “hell on earth” at PSG.

“We lived through hell, both he and I. We get upset, because we’re not there for nothing, we’re there to do our best, to be champions, to try to make history. That’s why we played together again, we got together there so that it could make history. Unfortunately, we didn’t succeed.”

For him, Messi did not deserve to leave the club the way he did. “He is a guy who trains, who fights, who loses, gets angry, and was unfairly charged, in my view”, he said.

The interview took place during Neymar’s vacation in Brazil. He even watched a Santos game at the stadium, which was seen by fans as a rapprochement between the athlete and the club.

The player said, however, that he was never far from the team and is “openly from Santos”.

“I have this desire to play for Santos again. I know that saying this now puts a lot of pressure (laughs), but I have the desire. I wrote when I was leaving: I’m going, but I’ll be back. I don’t know when, but it may have I’m sure I’ll be back,” he said.

The athlete is treating two injuries to his right thigh, which should delay his debut at Al Hilal, from Saudi Arabia. His treatment could also harm coach Fernando Diniz’s plans for the Brazilian team, which will need reinforcements in the team’s leadership.

For Neymar, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo are good candidates for protagonists of the Selection. “They already are [protagonistas]because they already have a name for it, regardless of whether I’m there or not,” he said.

“I’ve never been a selfish guy, quite the contrary. The more protagonists you have on your team, the better your team is. I’m glad they’re reaching this level, they’re already on this level, and helping the Brazilian team”, he said.