BUKAYO SAKA NAMES MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER EVER - "HE DESERVES MORE RESPECT!"
Bukayo Saka claims Neymar is "the most underrated footballer ever" as he called for more recognition for the Brazilian.
The forward made a move away from Europe last summer as he joined Al-Hilal, albeit he spent much of the season on the sideline with injury. Neymar's peak years saw him play for Barcelona and PSG - winning the Champions League with the former in 2015.
At 32 he still has years ahead of him, although opinion is split on whether the teenager who burst onto the scene at Santos ever truly delivered on his promise. Saka clearly thinks so though and wants to see Neymar spoken about in glowing terms more often.
He said: “Neymar is the most underrated footballer ever. I think people talk about him, but Neymar should be spoke about more. I think he deserves more respect than he gets. Personally, thats what I feel.“
Neymar moved to Barcelona in 2013 and helped form part of the iconic front three that also featured Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. It was whilst playing in Spain that he produced his best ever performance in front of goal - scoring 39 times in the 2014/15 campaign.
At the Nou Camp he was prolific and hugely influential, winning numerous titles, but was always in the shadow of his Argentine team-mate.
That was thought to be a motivation behind his switch to Paris for a world record £198m. He was soon joined by Kylian Mbappe in the French capital and, despite producing consistently, many felt he was superseded as PSG's main man by the former Monaco star.
One of Neymar's great desires during his career was to claim the Ballon d'Or having seen so many of his compatriots and heroes do so. Between 1997 and 2007, Brazilians took the Ballon d'Or home on five occasions, with Ronaldo winning twice (1997 & 2002) and Rivaldo (1999), Ronaldinho (2005) and Kaka (2007) all winning one trophy apiece.
Kaka remains the last Brazilian to scoop the award, although Vinicius Jnr is among the favourites this year, but Neymar has claimed landing the Golden Ball is not a career obsession.
He once told Sport Express: "I want to win the Ballon d'Or, but I'm in no hurry to do so. It’s one of my objectives, something I dream of, but personal ambition isn't why I play the game. I play because I like to and enjoy helping the team and making fans happy- only once I do that, do I hope to achieve personal records.”
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2024-07-04T14:02:20Z dg43tfdfdgfd