Back in Brazil after a last mixed experience in Bordeaux, the former defender of the great years of PSG (1991-1995) then coach (1996-1998) analyzes the return to the foreground of Neymar before the shock against Dortmund, in 8th of the Champions League, Tuesday.
How do you explain that Neymar has once again become a crack on the pitch?
RICARDO. He has suffered many injuries since 2014 and even more at PSG. There, he returns in his best form and all Brazilians are happy to find him at this level. When I was training Bordeaux, he was already very good. We equalized but in the midfield he had done us considerable harm in his game choices. I think he is happy in Paris but his happiness depends on the European Cup. He is ambitious, he always wants more. He came to win the Champions League, that's his goal. If he wanted to leave PSG, it is because of the results. At the end, it is the course of PSG in the Champions League which will determine whether he was happy or not here.
Has the accusation of rape in a Parisian hotel weighed in his desires to leave?
No. It has nothing to do with the city, let alone the club. It's a sad story, a bad choice.
Where do you place it in the world hierarchy?
It is one of the best in the world. He always comes after Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. But if we only talk about technical quality, he rivals them, he is even on the same level as Messi. But a footballer is not just about his technical qualities.
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Should PSG leaders extend their contract?
Yes. We must keep Neymar and Mbappé. Because they are able to change a match and allow PSG to win several European Cups. The hardest part is winning the first one. Paris' investments should have enabled it to earn more, in three or four years. Finally, they did not do better than the PSG of the 90s in the European Cup. This is called pressure. We must find players capable of making differences by their technical but above all mental capacities, by supporting the pressure.
Is he the greatest footballer to have played at PSG?
Technically, yes, it is the largest seen in Paris. But there was Weah, Ginola, Valdo, Susic. There were very large ones in Paris!