"He should’ve been winning the Ballon d'Or" - Pundit slams Neymar, says he should've taken over from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has slammed Neymar for failing to take over from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Frenchman reckoned that the Brazilian should've been winning the Ballon d'Or but failed to fulfill his potential because he wasn't fully focused on football.
Neymar needs no introduction. The Brazilian was one of the most talented players of his generation. He was heavily backed to win multiple Ballon d'Or awards and dominate the football world after the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He appeared to be following that path during his time at Barcelona as he shared the Ballon d'Or podium with the iconic duo on two occasions (2015 and 2017). However, he slipped off when he left La Blaugrana for PSG in the summer of 2017 and hasn't returned to the podium ever since.
To make matters worse, the 33-year-old now plays for Santos in the Brazilian League after joining from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in January. Considering his constant injury struggles, it is fair to say that the attacker's best years are now behind him.
Speaking to Poker Firma, Emmanuel Petit rued the 33-year-old's failure and slammed him for not taking over from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"I’m a big fan of Neymar’s qualities, he was once such a tremendous player," said the Frenchman. "But he hasn’t reached the level that he should've."
"He should’ve been winning the Ballon d’Or and competing with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and taking over after them. You can blame his injuries and his lifestyle, but he didn’t fulfil his potential."
Petit went on to compare the 33-year-old to former Barcelona superstar Rivaldo, highlighting what separates the two Brazilian talents.
"He had so much quality but issues off the pitch so I cannot compare him to Rivaldo," the former France midfielder continued. "Rivaldo won the Ballon d’Or, he won the World Cup, he was an unbelievable player and reached the pinnacle because he only focused on his career."
"That is the big difference between Neymar and Rivaldo, Neymar wasn’t focused on only football," he added.
Thanks to Neymar's failure, players like Luka Modric and Rodri have managed to pick up the Ballon d'Or in recent years.
Players who can dominate the Ballon d'Or like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the future
When it comes to highlighting the players who can follow Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's footsteps by dominating the Ballon d'Or award in the future, Lamine Yamal quickly comes to mind. The winger set the Euros on fire last summer and is on course to lead his club to a historic treble this season at just 17 years old.
Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe is another obvious name, alongside his colleague Vinicius Junior, who went close to winning the award last year. Another Barcelona gem, Pedri, is garnering a lot of support with his magical displays and is primed to be in the race in the coming years.
Meanwhile, players like Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala, and Bukayo Saka are playing at an incredible level at the moment and still have age on their side to fight for the award in the future. It'd be interesting to see how the competition will be in a couple of years.
