Pelé believes Neymar mirrors Lionel Messi more than Cristiano Ronaldo | OneFootball

Neymar has finished third in the voting for the Ballon d’Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi in both 2015 and 2017.

The Brazilian phenomenon is widely expected to be the first player not named Messi or Ronaldo to win the award since Kaká did so in 2007.

As the PSG man is on pace to shatter Pelé’s Brazilian goal-scoring record, the legend himself opened up to ESPN Brasil and claimed Neymar’s playmaking ability is much more similar to Lionel Messi than Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Neymar has been compared with Cristiano Ronaldo. So I’ve said several times, told friends, in Europe, given interviews… Cristiano Ronaldo is an excellent player, he could be like our Vava, our Coutinho, the finisher,” Pelé told ESPN.

“Neymar is really more of a Messi-style, one who constructs the play, but scores the goal also.”

Neymar has been sidelined with a foot injury but is expected to lead Brazil in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.