Sir Alex Ferguson believes Neymar has what it takes to shake up Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s duopoly in world football.
The pair of forwards have occupied the top two spots in each of the last seven FIFA Ballon d’Or podiums, but the former Manchester United boss – who managed the Portuguese at Old Trafford – is backing Barcelona’s No 11 to one day reach their heights.
“You’ll always look at clubs like Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United to produce that kind of player you’re talking about,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with SiriusXM FC by Goal.com.
“To be honest I’m not sure there’s one sticking out at the moment. The boy Neymar gets a lot of publicity about the potential he’s got, but I think that’s still to be seen, still to be fulfilled.
“Certainly, most people I speak to speak highly of the boy. When I had Anderson at United, he spoke volumes about the boy’s ability.
“Hopefully he’ll be the next one who’ll produce the type of talent we see in Messi and Ronaldo.”
On Madrid Coach Carlo Ancelotti, Ferguson added: “Carlo is a top man. I was over at the Real Madrid game with Schalke and he was fantastic.
“He came up and he knew Darren [Alex Ferguson’s son] had lost his job at Peterborough and said ‘Why doesn’t Darren come and spend a few days at Real Madrid training? It will do him the world of good’.
“He was fantastic. I can’t say enough about that man. He is top drawer – a fantastic human being and a great Coach.
“Carlo is one of the best Coaches I’ve ever come across and one of my biggest opponents, so I wouldn’t worry about his future, that’s for sure.”
