One of the most underrated players of all time. Every now and again, a tweet or post will emerge on social media asking where the great entertainers of football have disappeared to? Asking when the game will next see a Ronaldinho or Jay-Jay Okocha? Someone who plays the game and enjoys it. Somebody who has fun on the pitch, but also delivers moments of magic. Social media is rife with fans saying that these types of players don’t exist anymore, but in reality, a new Ronaldinho emerged a few years ago, and he’s absolutely despised.
Countless former players have said that Neymar is overrated, and that whichever flavour of the month player is a better player. Most recently it was Luis Diaz, which is untrue based on every single metric imaginable.
Why does nobody like Neymar?
Neymar will retire as Brazil’s top scorer of all time, PSG’s top scorer of all time (if he sticks around for a few more seasons), and having won almost everything possible. All while playing entertaining, skillful football that most top-level players could never dream of. He should be treated as one of football’s greatest ever players, but instead he is known for diving every now and again.
Not many players try to execute the pieces of skill that Ronaldinho used to do on a regular basis, and there is a reason. It takes an outrageous level of talent, skills and balls. Neymar is one of the few who is able to, and he also scores and assists more than Ronaldinho ever did! He may not play football with a smile on his face like Ronaldinho did in his prime, but what he does with the ball at his feet is almost identical, just slightly better.