Neymar hailed better than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo before FIFA World Cup

With just weeks left for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Brazilian and PSG veteran Neymar has been hailed as a better soccer player than two of the world’s best, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

While it has always been a debate to choose the world’s best soccer player, Messi and Ronaldo have always emerged as the two top contenders. However, Brazilian legend Cafu believes fellow countryman Neymar to be superior to them.

Speaking to The Times ahead of the 2026 World Cup and Neymar’s chances of making it into Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad, Cafu opened up on Neymar’s skills and called him better than Messi and “CR7.”

“Any team that has a decisive player like Neymar needs that player. If Neymar is in good shape – physically fit, tactically fit, technically fit – it’s obvious he’s a player who decides games. But only Ancelotti can decide and only Neymar can know if he’s ready. For me, Neymar was technically even better than [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi. He’s had a brilliant career,” he said.

Cafu, often regarded as one of the best defenders in the game, won the 1994 and 2002 FIFA World Cups with Brazil.

Lionel Messi opens up on Neymar’s FIFA World Cup chances

Still running for a spot in Brazil’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad, Neymar’s former teammate Messi opened up about his chances of representing his country at the upcoming tournament in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.

“I can’t be very objective, he’s a friend,” Messi said. “Obviously, I’d love for him to go, for good things to happen to him because he deserves it. At the World Cup, we always want the best players to be there, and Neymar, as long as he’s there, will always be one of them.”

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