Neymar chooses Cristiano Ronaldo over Ronaldinho before picking ex-teammate ahead of Portugal captain as final choice
Neymar Jr chose Cristiano Ronaldo over Brazilian legend Ronaldinho while playing a ping-pong game with various players as choices in a recent interview with Futmais. The Al-Hilal superstar was asked to choose between two players in each round and the player he chose carried over to the next round.
In one of the penultimate rounds, Neymar was asked to choose between Cristiano and Ronaldinho. The interviewer asked:
"Ronaldinho or Cristiano Ronaldo?"
After intense scrutinization, he said:
"Cristiano Ronaldo."
However, Neymar didn't think twice before naming his former Barcelona and Parish Saint-Germain (PSG) teammate Lionel Messi over the Portuguese icon in the final round.
The interviewer then asked Neymar to choose between Lionel Messi and himself for the last question, but the former Barcelona star still stuck with Messi.
Lionel Messi and Neymar have been close friends since they began playing together in Barcelona. The two played together for the Catalan giants between 2013 to 2017 and were reunited again in 2021 when Messi joined PSG, playing until 2023.
Neymar credited Cristiano Ronaldo for the growth of the Saudi Pro League
Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain to join Saudi Pro League giants Al Hilal in August 2023. Shortly after joining, he credited Cristiano Ronaldo for the growth of the league.
Speaking via Al Hilal's official channel, the Brazilian talked about those who called Ronaldo crazy when he joined the Saudi Pro League (SPL). He pointed out that many great players have joined the SPL since Ronaldo's move.
"I believe Cristiano Ronaldo started all of this and everybody called him 'crazy', and this and that. Today you see the league grow more and more. It is exciting, meeting top-quality players on the other teams thrills you and motivates you to play even better," Neymar said (via Reuters).
Multiple top-class players have joined the SPL since Ronaldo's move in December 2022, including Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, and Roberto Firmino.
Neymar has been on the sidelines since October 2023 due to an ACL injury and isn't a part of Brazil's Copa America 2024 squad. Meanwhile, Ronaldo is representing Portugal at the Euro 2024.