"A phenomenal player who is making football history" - PSG legend Pauleta lauds superstar forward for his achievements
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) great Pauleta has waxed lyrical about Les Parisiens superstar Neymar after he became one of the French giants' top five goalscorers.
PSG acquired Neymar's services from La Liga giants Barcelona in the summer of 2017. They forked out a whopping sum of €222 million to take the forward to the Parc des Princes.
The Brazil international has since been a key player for Les Parisiens, making 154 appearances across all competitions. While he may not have been able to take the club to the heights they wanted yet, his contributions to the team are always there to be seen.
Neymar has found the back of the net 111 times for PSG, while providing 67 assists in the process. He recently became the club's fourth-highest goalscorer in history, surpassing Paqueta.
The 30-year-old is only behind Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the list of the Parisians' top scorers. He has thus etched his name in the club's history books.
Paqueta, who netted 109 goals for the European heavyweights, has now hailed Neymar as a phenomenal player. The former striker has no qualms about having his goalscoring tally overtaken by the Brazilian as he feels only great footballers manage to break his record. He told French television network TF1:
"I had the chance to be at one time the top scorer in the history of PSG. Only great players manage to beat this record, and I'm happy that Neymar is part of it. He is a phenomenal player, who is making football history."
🗣️ Pauleta : "J’ai eu la chance d’être à un moment le meilleur buteur de l’histoire du PSG. Seulement de grands joueurs arrivent à battre ce record, et je suis content que Neymar en fasse partie. C’est un joueur phénoménal, qui marque l’histoire du football"
(🎙️ @YassinNfaoui) https://t.co/6lzi3JXCJJ
Neymar has found the back of the net 11 times and provided seven assists for his teammates for Christophe Galtier's side this season alone.
Can Neymar become PSG's all-time top goalscorer?
Neymar is contracted to the Parc des Princes outfit until the end of the 2024-25 season. There is also an option to extend the deal by another 12 months, which would see him stay at the club until the age of 34.
The former Barcelona superstar will thus be hopeful of continuing his form and possibly becoming the Parisians' highest scorer of all-time. It is worth noting that he has to score 89 more goals to claim his place at the top.
Cavani currently holds the record as the club's top scorer, having netted 200 goals from 301 appearances. Swedish striker Ibrahimovic is placed third in the table with 156 goals to his name.
Neymar's current teammate Mbappe, though, might be his biggest threat. The 23-year-old has already found the back of the net 181 times in 225 matches for the club.