Rio Olympics 2016: Neymar can lead Brazil to glory, claims Ronaldo

Ronaldo with Neymar

Brazilian football legend Ronaldo believes present national team captain Neymar can lead his side to an elusive victory in the upcoming Rio Olympics.

"Playing at home, with Neymar, I see a great possibility for the gold medal going to Brazil," Ronaldo was quoted as saying by goal.com on Friday.

Neymar has opted to sit out of June's Copa America Centenario in order to lead Brazil's Olympians. And Ronaldo said same things had happened to him in his playing career where he had to sit out competitions to take part in some other tournaments.

"It happened to me, being unable to play because I was not released by my club, or because of scheduling conflicts," he said.

"The calendar is increasingly packed full of more games and more competitions, and then players like Neymar are forced to choose between playing a Copa America or the Olympics."

Brazil have been drawn in Group A of Rio 2016 and open their campaign against South Africa in Brasilia on August 4. They have never won the Olympic gold medal, the only top level football title yet to be won by them.