What would it take for Neymar to get the same love and support as Messi?

[ASHOOR]

The amount of support Messi (not as opposed to Argentina as a team) to win the World Cup is unprecedented! Honestly, the only ones I am yet to see wishing he wins is members of the French team (and of course CR7 fans lol) Otherwise, I have even seen former French players saying he deserves it and hope he wins it. Never ever seen a World Cup final where one player has the emotional edge and and support.

As I mentioned, if Argentina doesn’t win tomorrow, it will be soccer’s biggest disappointment and mourning. Just based on global vibes from hundreds of millions around the world should give you the upper hand. You just have to do the work on the field and take care of things.

Which begs the question: what does Neymar have to do to get this much support from non-Brazil fans? Where we hear the same thing as we are hearing now , that Neymar deserves to win the World Cup, just for the virtue of being Neymar, given all the hard world he has put in.

Interestingly, not many said this about Messi in 2018. Is it because this is his fifth World Cup, and he had paid his dues? If neymar does play in 2026, it will be his 4th WC, not the same as playing in a fifth (thanks Dunga for refusing to bring 18 year old Neymar in 2010, otherwise next one would have been record number 5 for him)

I for one think that Neymar can start getting more fans on his side in the coming years- especially with both CR7 and Messi retiring soon - by playing his game and end his childish complaining and and drama. I think we all agree that he did he was more focused in 2022 then he was in 2018 and didn’t have a lot of those stupid arguments and quarrels with opposition players and referees. In fact the way he handled the difficult loss and not throwing his teammates under the bus shows that there is finally some hope.



ASHOOR

 

[Crocodile Bani]

Neymar is to soccer what Novak Djokovic is to tennis.

You are probably thinking what one Earth I am talking about. Let me explain.

In tennis, you had a generation where Nadal and Federer were the top 2. You were either camp Nadal or camp Federer (I was Nadal only due to his famous uncle). Then Djokovic came along. He is just as good as they are and was a major challenge to the Nada-Federer duopoly. But fans just never accepted him as there was no room for him. Any time Djokovic says or does anything even remotely controversial, the knives are out for him, quite unfairly.

Neymar existed at the same time as the Ronaldo-Messi rivalry. There simply was no room for a 3rd player. On top of this Neymar lost to Messi at the Club World Cup final while playing for Santos. He then joined Messi at Barca, rather than playing for a team that would challenge Messi. The Ronaldo-Messi rivalry was amplified by their club side's pre existing rivalry. Had Ronaldo not have gone to Real Madrid, the rivalry would never have been as strong. On the other hand, Neymar and Messi are great friends. They have played alongside each other at Barca and PSG. Along with some of Neymar's antics at Russia2018, fans have never put Neymar on the same level was Messi and Ronaldo.

Had Ronaldo stayed at Manchester United and Messi played for (hypothetically) Liverpool and Neymar had signed with (hypothetically) Manchester City, I think history would have been written differently. At least in England, there are more clubs capable of winning the league unlike Spain which was the battle ground that Ronaldo, Neymar and Messi battled against each other in.

For Neymar to be universally accepted by fans, he needs an environment where there is no Messi or Ronaldo and has to concentrate on football and not theatrics and changing his hair style every week.

Just my view.