Pele agrees that Neymar has a tendency to dive

Pele admits that Neymar dives unnecessarily

Pele has agreed that Neymar dives unnecessarily but he believes that the player is slowly improving on that front.

ESPN quoted Pele: “Yes, yes, he had this problem in Santos also. I think he tries to create fouls and situations that are not there. But now he got much better because in Europe, things are different.”

Recently after the Champions League match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, the opponent coach Diego Simeone criticised the Brazilian for going down very easily.

He said: “Diving is his characteristic, like Alexis Sanchez did when I coached him at River Plate. This part of his game lets him down.”

Pele mentioned that Neymar’s move to Barcelona had helped him a lot and that the latter had improved a lot. His move to Europe had helped him to evolve into a better player.

Pele added: “The good thing with Neymar is that Barcelona moved to sign him six months ago. This experience is fantastic for him. In Europe, football is more tough, more difficult. For him to grow for the national team of Brazil is fantastic.”

The Brazilian legend has urged everyone not to burden Neymar with expectations at the World Cup.

“What makes me worried a little bit is the pressure on him,” Pele said.

“Because the World Cup is a tournament, it’s not just one game. Everyone expects Neymar is going to win the World Cup for Brazil. This is very dangerous for him.”

He further spoke about his cold relationship with long time rival Diego Mardona.

He stated: “Always, he says something, but you know I’ve [always been respectful] to Maradona as a player. When he was in trouble, I try to bring him to Santos. Then after, he had all of those problems.

“Unfortunately, now I can’t help Maradona as man or a person outside of the field. It’s the same as when he was on the field, today he has a lot of problems. That’s my point, but I respect him. I think he was a great player, no doubt.”