"I can tell you that I'm going to beat him" - Neymar makes confident claim on surpassing Pele
Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr. has said that he is confident of beating Pele's goalscoring record for the national team.
The superstar forward is in Brazil's squad for the upcoming set of FIFA World Cup qualifying games. Brazil are set to play Bolivia on Friday. Their talismanic number 10 is currently the country's all-time top scorer and is level with Pele with 77 goals to his name.
The Al-Hilal attacker is confident of getting past Pele as he said in a recent press conference (quotes as per Roya News):
"It's hard to answer this question, what this team means. It means a lot. For everyone here, Pelé is the unanimous king of football, imagine beating someone at that. Something you'll never imagine in your life. I can tell you that I'm going to beat him."
Neymar is yet to make an official club appearance this season as he still recovering from the injuries he suffered last season. The player, however, could be in line to start against Bolivia.
Neymar recently spoke about his adaptation in Saudi Arabia
Neymar completed a sensational £78 million move from Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal in the summer transfer window. He is yet to play a game for Al-Hilal.
The attacker, however, was quizzed about the adaptation to his life in Saudi Arabia. Speaking on the matter, Neymar said ahead of the clash against Bolivia (quotes as per Ge Globo):
"I did not encounter any kind of difficulty. Obviously speaking Arabic, I still don't speak. My French, after five, six years, was pretty bad. Not much difference."
He added:
"What's important is on the field, getting along with your teammates. It's a new culture that I'm going to. I was happy to discover it. I was very well received by everyone. I’m happy with my decision, with the future ahead."
The superstar further said:
"Obviously, there were a lot of guesses everywhere, a lot of know-it-alls who knew the truth of what happened, and no one knows. Only I know, few people know what happened for me to arrive at Al-Hilal, but it's not up to anyone, it's not up to you. What you have to talk about is the four lines, from the outside, I'll take care of it."
Neymar is widely regarded as one of the best and most talented players of the modern era. Fans will keep a keen eye on how he performs for Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal.