“Who is going to have the courage to say that he is not an ace?” – Brazil legend Ronaldo slams Neymar critics
PSG winger Neymar is no stranger to criticism, with fans and the media taking turns to lash out at the Brazilian over the last couple of months.
Former Real Madrid and Brazil star Ronaldo Nazario has now jumped to the defense of the forward during an interview with Flow Podcast.
The legendary striker lashed out at critics who often dig into Neymar's personal life to find faults and use them in their scrutiny. He added that football-wise, no one can underrate the 29-year-old's class.
Neymar’s 70th goal for Brazil 🇧🇷
He’s now only seven away from equaling Pele.
(via @fuboTV)
https://t.co/N3LkqdLl9U
Ronaldo, who made 98 appearances for Brazil during his playing days, was quoted as saying:
"Neymar is an ace of football. People enter his personal life to fix some defect in his ball. Speaking of football, who is going to have the courage to say that he is not an ace?"
One of the accusations that critics use to belittle Neymar's relevance for Brazil is the fact that he's hasn't won the World Cup like other Selecao greats.
Ronaldo believes this fact takes nothing away from the PSG star, pointing to another Brazilian legend, Zico, who didn't taste World Cup success either.
Neymar Jr 🇧🇷
Forever a Brazilian football legend 🌟 https://t.co/gT3yEZRXvm
The former Real Madrid striker continued:
"I think people think a lot about not having won the World Cup. But just look at Zico, who will have the courage to say he wasn’t a star?”
Neymar's statistics and achievements with Brazil
Neymar made his debut for Brazil on August 10, 2010, under manager Mano Menezes at the age of 18 years, six months and five days old. Since then, he has made 115 more appearances for the Selecao across 11 years.
As it stands, the attacker is the second-highest goalscorer in the history of the Brazilian national team, with 70 goals to his name. Only Pele (77) has a superior record. The likes of Ronaldo Nazario, Romario and Zico occupy the third, fourth and fifth positions respectively, with 62, 55 and 48 goals in the same order.
Speaking of international honors, Neymar won both the 2013 Intercontinental Cup and the Olympic title in 2016. He'll get the opportunity to add the World Cup to the list when Brazil once again participate in the tournament in Qatar next year.