Former Villarreal and Atletico Madrid star Diego Forlan believes Neymar’s “magical” talents will make him the world’s best player in the next few years.
The Brazilian’s treble-winning season with Barcelona, which saw him score 39 goals and strike up a critically-acclaimed partnership with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in attack, was overshadowed by a four-match ban at Copa America.
“He had a brilliant season with Barcelona, in which he proved his quality, not only individually but also in combination with [Lionel] Messi and Luis Suarez,” the ex-Uruguay international was quoted as saying by AS.
“Sometimes you lose your head in a match, but to do it once the match was over was very foolish on his part.
“He’s one of the best strikers in the world, playing for the best team in the world. He scores goals, gives assists, dribbles past players and performs magic on the ball.
“Neymar is still a level below Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and it’s likely that both players will remain the best in the world for a few more years, but Neymar is almost five years younger than Messi and seven [years younger than] Ronaldo.
“He’ll improve and become the best player in the world in the next few years.”
“Brazil’s players trust him in games. There has never been a [Brazil] team dependent on just one individual as they’ve had some outstanding players [in each generation], but Neymar is currently their leading player and Brazil without Neymar aren’t the same.
“[The Copa America] is weaker without him.”
