Brazilian football legend Pele has praised the move of compatriot Neymar Jr. from Barcelona to Paris St Germain.
Pele believes the player made the move to step out from the shadows of Lionel Messi at Barcelona.
Neymar was really going to be second fiddle for as long as he would remain at the club, until Messi retired or dropped in form to an incredible extent. And that possibly would be in three years’ time or thereabout. If he retired, Neymar would be the prime candidate for the best player in the world as Cristiano Ronaldo would also have passed his prime. At 25 already, Neymar would have a short time at the top as he would be around 28.
Messi and Ronaldo have jointly ruled the scene for the last decade. If Neymar left the Nou Camp, he gets a decent chance at competing with them from now. His switch divided opinions as many pointed to the money, greed, disagreement with the club officials, the financial issues involved in the transfer from Brazil and tax issues with the Spanish authorities, and many others.
“I think it’s a good opportunity for him and he needed to move because now he can really play and show what he’s capable of,” Pele said.
Pele added that the move could be “very dangerous” considering the huge responsibility involved.
Another Brazil football legend Romario agreed with Pele, claiming Neymar would find it harder to be the best player in the world at PSG.
Barcelona have top stars and they keep attracting the very best. See how Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho were eager to dump their clubs for them. At PSG, there are top players as well but it has always been difficult for them to excel at the big occasions in Europe. Neymar’s experience would help but they perception is that they would still fall short. Falling short means lesser games at the biggest level for Neymar to be recognized as the world best.
Romario adds that happiness was important as well and that it seems the player seems happy in Paris.