Dani Alves compares former teammate Neymar to a child and warns PSG star he must change
The pair were teammates at PSG and Barcelona, as well as internationally with Brazil
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Your support makes all the difference.Neymar must change his ways to be treated with more respect, former teammate Dani Alves has warned the Paris Saint-Germain star.
Alves departed PSG this summer to join Sao Paulo, and also played alongside Neymar at Barcelona and for Brazil.
The right-back also suggested that his former colleague has “the sensibility of a child”.
At times, in order not to generate a certain type of feeling, he retracts,” Alves told Brazilian broadcaster SporTV.
“Neymar is a very sensitive person. Neymar is very affected by many things, and at times many of those are unjust. Neymar has the sensibility of a child. But Ney is not a child, no. He is a man.
“People have to start learning to respect Neymar. The Ney of the Brazilian team people don’t respect. He’s known as the outsider and people don’t respect that.”
Neymar has been criticised for his immaturity in the past, and was excluded from the 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist this year.
Award organisers France Football revealed that part of the reason for his exclusion were off-field incidents, with Neymar abusing a match official and pushing a supporter in sperate incidents only a month apart in the spring.
Walter Casagrande, who played 19 times for Brazil, labelled him “spoiled” in 2018.
“Ney has already won in football so he can talk and say what he wants,” Alves argued in defence of Neymar. “There are a lot of people who keep talking, commentating and haven’t won anything. That is why I want him to put himself out there. When they say something that is not right about, you whether it’s Casagrande or someone else, you have to stand up for yourself.
“Today he is the most important Brazilian football player and Neymar is among the top in world football. He needs to take a stance because he is in a place where he has to position himself and people have to understand who Ney is, how he thinks, and they have to start to learn and respect Neymar.
“Ney has had a responsibility ever since he became a role model to kids, to other athletes. When you start having that responsibility, you cannot disappoint them. It’s then when you have to take a stance,” Alves said.
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