Thiago Silva recently sat down with TNT Sports Brasil, making headlines with a comparison between Neymar’s situation in Brazil to that of Lionel Messi in Argentina. According to the veteran center-back, his compatriot has had it more complicated in his own country than the Argentine star.
“Neymar is very strong mentally. I watched Messi’s interview. If Messi had all of the demand/pressure in all his career, Messi would’ve stopped. Neymar is really strong and the demand on him is too much, sometimes exhausting,” Silva said.
READ MORE
++ Neymar compares Cristiano Ronaldo and Thiago Silva, claims Brazil overlooks its own idols
++ Neymar talks about his relationship with Lionel Messi
++ Privatization of beaches! Understand the controversy involving Neymar and Brazilian personalities
Thiago’s comments gave a lot to talk about on social media, with many fans reminding the former Chelsea defender that Messi quitted to international football at some point due to the external pressure, before Leo decided to keep on trying to turn things around with his country.
While the Inter Miami star did experience rough times in Argentina, it’s also true that Ney has dealt with heavy criticism from Brazil throughout his career. Luck hasn’t been on the Santos product’s side on the international stage, with injuries and poor team performances preventing him from winning more silverware with the Selecao.
🎙️THIAGO SILVA:
(On Neymar)
“People will say “He hasn’t won the World Cup so he can’t say anything”, What? I don’t understand. Sometimes I think I don’t understand football because i’m a layman. Because it doesn’t make sense for people to have such a demand/charge, of course… pic.twitter.com/SVSqAvf62w
— Ginga Bonito 🇧🇷 (@GingaBonitoHub) June 3, 2024
“People will say ‘He hasn’t won the World Cup so he can’t say anything’, What? I don’t understand. Sometimes I think I don’t understand football because I’m a layman. Because it doesn’t make sense for people to have such a demand/charge, of course there is some demand because of the player he is, for the titles he could and is capable of winning. But look at the games for Brazil that he didn’t play, how difficult it was for us to play. Not that the other players didn’t contribute but Neymar is irreplaceable,” Silva added.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the full series, available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel.
