That's why it raised our eyebrows a couple of weeks ago when we saw the cover of this TIME magazine (see photo).
Neymar da Silva Santos Junior (or more commonly known as Neymar) is being touted by many as the next great Brazilian super star. The 21-year old, currently playing with Brazilian club Santos (the same club that Pele once played for), is in high demand by some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City.
His future looks bright...but still, comparing him to Pele?
KayNGeeSports decided to debate:
Gee: The prediction of the next Pele is a brave statement. There is a lot that needs to be taken into consideration when comparing these two. For instance, let's compare what Neymar is doing right now to Pele when he was at that age (21). By the age of 16, Pele was already a national player for the mighty Brazil. He became the youngest player to score in international competition. Neymar was named to the Brazilian national team at the age of 18, in 2010, scoring on his debut against the United States.
Kay: So that means Neymar was just 2 years older than Pele when he made his international debut. And he even scored on his debut to boot which Pele failed to do. So doesn't that make the "Next Pele" label somewhat legitimate? The same is true for their club careers. Neymar was just two years older than Pele when they made their club debuts with Santos (17 to 15). So according to my math, both made their national team debuts one year after their club debuts. Quite a parallel right there!
Gee: Okay, but Pele is known by most of the world's inhabitants as the greatest football player to ever walk this earth, has set the bar really high for all Brazilians coming up. Think of the names: Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Romario, Robinho to name a few. These great players, I assume, had to endure comparisons placed upon them by their countrymen. So far, none have been able to eclipse the legend!
Kay: That is true. These are some great players that you just mentioned. But what's to say that Neymar won't be the one who breaks through? He certainly has the potential. And again, he's still just 21.
Gee: First of all in order to achieve a reasonable comparison with the great Pele, Neymar will need to leave Brazil for Europe where the competition is much tougher. It was already been said that he does not perform up to par when playing away from home or outside of the Brazilian leagues. There are other greats out there, such as Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo, who make great case for themselves when it comes to world greats. Neymar obviously has displayed the skills and talents and should be in the conversation of world greats but is be better than Messi or Ronaldo? Is he better than Xavi, Iniesta or Ibrahimovic? Pele himself have mentioned the potential greatness of his fellow Brazilian but is this just love for country and fellow countryman or is he being genuine about his thoughts as a football icon?
Kay: But Pele never went to Europe either. In fairness he could not leave Brazil because they declared him a national treasure, in essence making it nearly impossible for him to leave. Neymar has been high on the list of many European clubs, but like in the case of Pele, Santos continues to turn down offers. The fact that so many of the top clubs are interested should say about the young man's talent. He may not quite be universally recognized as the best in the world - that title is reserved for Messi - but consider this: Lionel Messi is 25. Christiano Ronaldo is 28. Neymar is still only 21 - years away from his peak. Plus the fact that he has 17 goals scored in 26 games for Brazil shows that he is capable of performing at a high level if given the chance to play outside Brazil.
Gee: Look at the other Brazilian greats who have accomplished almost the same thing or even more than what Neymar have done thus far. In 1994 for example, Ronaldo scored his first international goal against Canada at the age of 17. From there he went on to be one of the greatest football players to ever play the game. At the age of 16 he was one of the main pieces of success for the Brazilian club Cruizero, and in 1994 he went on to play in the Dutch league for PSV Eindhoven where he dominated the league. In 1996 at the age of 19 he moved on to Italian club Inter Milan earning the name "El Phenomenon". He was magic to watch and a prolific goal scorer. Why am i mentioning all this? It is to prove that neymar has a lot to do and still has ways to go to being mentioned as being the "Next Pele". I really thought that Ronaldo had a great chance of being the "Next Pele" had it not been for injuries.
Kay: Ronaldo was truly a remarkable player and I regard him as one of the top 2-3 Brazilians in the history of the game. Ronaldo had a chance of being the "Next Pele" - he's the closest anyone has come to that title in my opinion. Neymar has the same potential. The question is will he be able to stay healthy for the majority of his career (unlike Ronaldo) and will he remain dedicated to the game and remain fit (something that both Ronaldo and Ronaldinho had trouble with).
Gee: Finally, if Neymar ever wants to be labelled as the "Next Pele" he HAS to win at least one World Cup. I don't think that Brazil are favorites to win the World Cup next year despite being the host. That means it may not happen for him until he's 26. Pele already had two World Cups by then! Pele is the only Brazilian to win three World Cups and is the all-time scoring leader for the national team with 95 goals (in 110 games). Neymar has a long long way to go to match those numbers. And speaking of goals, Pele has a career total of 1282 in 1366 career games, a rate of 0.94 goals per game. Neymar's goal-scoring rate falls far behind at 0.62 goals per game (154 goals in 245 games).
Kay: Agree with you there! This conversation can never be validated if Neymar fails to win a World Cup.
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