Former Brazil international Edilson says Lionel Messi and Neymar must win the FIFA World Cup before they can be compared to him.
Edilson was a member of a star-studded Brazilian side that won the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
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The 49-year-old who made his debut for the South American giants in 1993 and earned 21 caps scoring six goals, made two starts at the World Cup – against Costa Rica and Turkey – while he came off the bench against England and China.
And the former Palmeiras and Corinthians star believes his World Cup winners’ medal edges him above both Messi and Neymar, claiming his technical ability when at the peak of his powers was greater than the Paris Saint-Germain forward.
“At my best, I played better than Neymar,” Edilson told TV Bandeirantes.
“He needs to win the World Cup in order to be better than me.
“I have personality, and for Messi to be better than me, he also has to win the World Cup.”
And speaking about Cristiano Ronaldo, Edilson who was awarded the Golden Ball at the FIFA Club World Cup in 2000 said: “Cristiano Ronaldo is just strength; he strikes the ball well with both feet, but I’m more skilful than him.”
Edilson managed 163 goals during his club career, most of which was spent in Brazil.
He played for 18 different clubs in a 16 year professional career,
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COMMENTS
This one na real mumu
I laugh sideways….this guy has ego issues!
Edilson was a good player, no doubt. Skills, pace, and had plenty of goals in him.
But his claim that Messi, CR7 and Neymar are inferior to him is ludicrous, at best.
He is just looking for attention. And boy, is he getting it! His name is trending all around sports circles today.
He thinks his world cup winner status gives him the edge. Now, this is an interesting talking point. I personally do not think international trophies should be the only, or the major, determinant of a player’s ability. There have been some truly great players who never won international trophies. And there have been some average to above average players who were fortunate to be in great teams, and ended up with laurels.
For me, the point to take away here is the importance of winning trophies in a footballer’s career. Edilson is a world cup winner. Messi has a world cup runners up medal. CR7 and Neymar have not won even chewing gum at the world cup, but they do have international trophies ( CR7 has Euro cup, Neymar has Confed cup), something Messi has yet to manage. Messi does have an Olympic gold, as does Neymar.
Team success counts! Edilson was only a bit part player for Brazil at the 2002 world cup, coming in as a sub in most games. Yet, today, he is a world cup winner. Our boys can learn from this. I have always pushed the idea that it is not a do or die affair to start games for the national team. Rather, all the players should work together for the common good. If one is starting, the one on the bench should support him 100%. And everybody should be ready to give their best, whether starting or on the bench. I would rather win the world cup without kicking a ball, than be a starter and end up with nothing to show. And if a player in the team is scoring 9 out of every 10 goals, instead of regressing to petty jealousy, and refusing to pass the ball to him (this actually happened in the past!), or refusing to cooperate with him in other ways, I personally would do everything in my power to ensure that our regular goal scorer is as comfortable as possible! I will do this, because I realize that every goal scored by this person brings the team, including myself, closer to a trophy.
@pompei.I totally agree with you especially with the attitude of players whether they are in the starting eleven or not.Some players are very good match readers,so while they are on the bench they are studying their opponent.As soon as they come on they wreck havoc on the opposing team.A good example is Ole gunner solskjaer.
Another thing the players should bear in mind is that the he coach has his own tactics.Some players may fit for example into a 4-4-2 formation and not fit into a 4-3-3 formation or any other formation and tactics the coach wants to use and this is because each of the players have their strengths and weaknesses.
The opposition too can determine who is to be fielded or not.
I will rather give 10 assists to the striker if I am in the position to give the 10 assists.The number of assists,passes made,interception,tackles,ability to track after losing the ball etc are all being used to rate players these days.There is no point being jealous.
Agreed Chux. Jealousy and in-fighting was part of the numerous problems that stopped the 1994 set from fulfilling their potential. Those guys should have qualified for the world cup final. And who knows, they might have beaten Brazil and become world champs. It was a tremendous waste of such a talented generation of players. We currently have a squad that is probably going to be as good as the 1994 set.
I hope our boys learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. If we must lose a match, let us lose to a superior opponent.
We must not lose a match before it is played, by succumbing to inferiority complex.
We must not lose a match because of lack of unity and cooperation among the players.
We must not self destruct, like the 1994 set did.
True.I hope they learn from the past mistakes especially from the 94 WC set.
Where does this guy get courage putting his name in a category that is exclusive to just a few footballers. For a guy that represented Brazil 20 times and never played for a major club he shouldn’t be talking like that.
This very informative. Thanks for sharing