He was supposed to be the heir to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the one who would take over from the two giants by winning the greatest individual accolades. But at 31, Neymar has still not managed to lift the Ballon d’Or and is still chasing a second Champions League after the one obtained with Barça in 2015. Currently injured, the Brazilian international will not be able to help his team against Bayern Munich in the round of the 16-second leg of the Champions League (1-0 defeat in the first leg). Before this meeting, it was his former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez who returned to his case. The Uruguayan revealed that the player did not want to join Paris in 2017, and believes that if he had stayed in Spain, he would have won the Ballon d’Or, Place.
“Before Neymar Jr joined PSG, I told him: ‘If you want more big trophies, stay with me & Leo a bit more. I am responsible for my words. If Neymar had stayed at Barcelona, he would have won the Ballon d’Or, says the former Barca striker. He listened to us and said yes I want to stay. But as you know, with his entourage, it’s difficult to manage. We advised him as friends to stay, but his family decided to leave. He was told to go to England, there is City and better football but in France? Neymar said a year ago that the World Cup in Qatar would be his last, but was it really his last? He will be 34 next time, I think he will play the next World Cup, I guess. I didn’t talk to him but I would recommend Brazil to get the best out of him. Look what Messi did at the World Cup aged 35. He tried and got what he wanted. If Brazil wants to be the world champion in the next edition, they have to do what Argentina did with Messi. Running and working ten players for Neymar.”
