"National team is getting certain independence from Neymar" - Journalist claims PSG star is not Brazil's most important player anymore
Brazilian journalist Arnaldo Ribeiro has insisted that Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Neymar will not be the marquee player for Brazil in the 2022 World Cup.
The 30-year-old has a fantastic record for the Brazil national team and has been the most important player for Selecao over the last decade. He is the second highest scorer for Brazil till date with 71 goals in 117 games, just six less than the legendary Pele.
However, Ribeiro insists that the former Barcelona winger will not be entirely relied upon by the five-time World Cup winners in the upcoming tournament. The journalist has stated that the Selecao team is getting 'certain independence' from the 30-year-old in recent times.
Ribeiro has also insisted that the likes of Marquinhos, Casemiro, Lucas Paquetá and Vinicius Junior will all be important for Brazil.
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Ribeiro told UOL Esporte, as quoted by PSG Talk:
“Neymar has not been the most important player in the Brazilian team for some time. You have Marquinhos, Casemiro, Paquetá now and Vinícius Júnior is coming. As a protagonist, he doesn’t work. And I think the national team is getting certain independence from Neymar in this final stretch of preparation.”
Fellow journalist Mauro Cezar Pereira also agreed with Ribeiro. He stated that the forward faces a similar situation at PSG where Kylian Mbappe has been the protagonist ahead of him.
The Brazilian reporter stated that Neymar is 'no longer an unpredictable and very decisive player'.
Pereira said:
“[Neymar] has not been the main player of his team for some time; it is natural that he is not such an important player in the Brazilian team because he does not play extraordinary football today. He is a talented player, a great player, but he is no longer an unpredictable and very decisive player."
He added:
"It could be, it depends a lot on him too, but I don’t know if Tite sees it that way. Will he always build the team around him? Will he sacrifice other athletes so he can feel more comfortable?”
Can PSG star Neymar prove his critics wrong in the World Cup?
Brazil will be heading to the World Cup as one of the favorites. However, they find themselves in a pretty tricky group alongside Serbia, Switzerland, and Cameroon.
They should manage to get past the group stage, though, with a plethora of quality players available at their disposal.
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We will have to wait and see whether manager Tite relies upon the underperforming PSG star or instead keeps his faith in the rest of the players. The forward has scored just five goals and made just five assists in 21 appearances in all competitions for PSG this season.
However, Neymar's record in the Brazilian jersey suggests that it will be hard to ignore him despite his dip in form.