Brazil striker Neymar said he is not fully ready to play in the first two rounds of World Cup qualifiers due to a right ankle injury that has kept him out of action since February.
Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia, but he has not yet played for his new club. He said in a press conference on Thursday that the Saudi Professional League could be as good as the French League, if not better.
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Brazil will play its first World Cup qualifier on Friday in the Amazonian city of Belem against Bolivia. then Selecao He will travel to face Peru on Tuesday.
Neymar explained his injury condition before the matches after Al Hilal coach, Jorge Jesus, criticized the Brazilian Football Confederation for summoning him while he was not in a physical condition to play.
However, the 31-year-old said he had joined Brazil in a similar situation before and was still playing, adding that Jesus only wanted to “protect” him.
Neymar said: “I feel fine and happy, but obviously I am not 100% ready. But my head is fine, my body is fine.” “I was going to play the last game [of Al Hilal]But I suffered a blow during training and the coach chose to exclude me so that I could come to Brazil.”
Neymar’s last match with Brazil was the World Cup quarter-final loss to Croatia. He left Qatar amid doubts about his future with the national team and did not play the first three matches for the Selecao this year.
Now it seems that Neymar’s doubts are over.
“After a lot of pressure from family and friends [to return to the national team] “You start to give value to everything you did,” Neymar said. “When you are with your people and your family, they put you in your place and make you see that it is worthwhile to continue to feel happy wearing the Brazil shirt.”
Neymar needs one goal to surpass Pele’s 77 goals as the national team’s top scorer in official matches, an achievement that the Brazilian Confederation does not want to celebrate due to the difference in the number of goals; She says the three-time World Cup winner has 95 goals.
Neymar agreed, however, that the mark represents another incentive for him to play for Brazil.
“It’s hard to know what this record means, but it means a lot,” he added. “No one ever thought about overcoming that. And that’s something I’ll respond to after it’s done.”
Neymar, who faced criticism from fans in France in recent years and left Paris Saint-Germain amid reports that he was not wanted at the club, strongly criticized the former league during the press conference.
In response to a question about how he could continue to compete in a league outside Europe, Neymar said: “I assure you that football is there.” [in Saudi Arabia] himself. The ball is round and there is a goal, and if you look at the names that went to the Saudi League… I do not know whether it is better than the French League or not.”
“I want to win titles with Al Hilal. My opinion will not change much. Everyone said the same thing when I went to France.” [about competitiveness]“This was the place where I was most affected in my life,” Neymar added.
“I am sure it will not be easy to win the Saudi Championship, other teams have become stronger and have famous players. It will be very interesting and I am sure you will watch it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
