Mourinho Reveals What Neymar Must Do To Reach Pele’s Level

Jose Mourinho believes Neymar will have to win big with Brazil before he can start being compared to the likes of Pele.

The 26-year-old is widely regarded among the top players in the world on the back of impressive spells at Barcelona and now Paris Saint-Germain.

Aside from regularly finding the net for both clubs, Neymar has also won league titles in Spain and France along with winning the Champions League in 2015.

The Brazilian superstar’s clever little tricks along with his dribbling and playmaking skills have won plenty of admirers and seen him being compared to Pele.

The duo both started out their respective playing careers at Santos in Brazil with Neymar even confessing once that he views Pele as a role model.

Unlike the three-time World Cup winner, however, Neymar’s sole success on the international stage has come at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.

The PSG forward has come up short in Brazil’s last two World Cup campaigns, which saw them lose 7-1 to Germany at home in the semi-final stage in 2014 before being knocked out by Belgium in the quarter-finals at Russia last summer.

Therefore, Mourinho reckons that the talented Neymar still has a long way to go before he can be put on a similar level to other Selecao greats.

The former Manchester United boss made these comments after Brazilian football magazine, Placar, declared Neymar as Brazil’s best player since Pele.

“Neymar is a fantastic talent and nobody can doubt that,” said Mourinho, according to Goal.
“He came to Europe and won immediately.

“But I think they forgot players that were the best of the world at some point, such as Ronaldo and Rivaldo, just citing two, and I could remember more.

“They also came to Europe and were fantastic, but beyond that, they passed through this special situation in a country’s life that is succeeding on the international level.

“Neymar will keep fighting to be on Europe’s elite, where he already is, and this [winning with Brazil] will continue to be a dream for him”

Neymar is currently recovering from a foot injury that he sustained in PSG’s  2-0 Coupe de France win over RC Strasbourg last month.