Neymar believes Real Madrid star Rodrygo should be considered one of the world's best five players after being overlooked for the Ballon d'Or.
The 23-year-old scored 17 goals and provided nine assists as Real Madrid won La Liga and the Champions League, but he was not among the 30 nominations announced on Wednesday evening. Rodrygo's colleagues Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Vinicius Junior, Antonio Rudiger, Toni Kroos, and Federico Valverde are also eligible for the prize, which will be awarded in October.
The Brazil international felt angry that he had not been nominated on the list, and he posted to his Instagram account shortly after the award was announced. The 23-year-old published a collage of photographs of himself rejoicing with the many trophies he had won over the season. It was accompanied with a sobbing and laughing emoji.
Neymar has shown his support for his colleague. The 32-year-old Al Hilal great, who twice made the top three in Ballon d'Or voting but finished behind Lionel Messi and Cristian Ronaldo in 2015 and 2017, was emphatic in his position.
"Minimum top five in the world!" "Cracking" Neymar commented on his own Instagram Story, linking to Rodrygo's post from earlier this summer.
While Rodrygo may have expressed sadness, he confessed that while the honour is his ambition, it is not his top concern. Instead, the former Santos prospect feels his club and countrymate Vinicius Jr. is a strong candidate.
He told Globo Esporte earlier this year, "We know that Vini is the main candidate to win it [Ballon d'Or], and I support this decision because he is my teammate." He went further: "It [Ballon d'Or] is not something that's my priority, but it's something every player dreams of."
The winger is presently the front-runner for the award, ahead of Bellingham, Spain, and Manchester City's Rodri.
After last year's winner, Lionel Messi, did not make the cut, a new winner will be announced in October. City forward Erling Haaland and new Real Madrid signing Kylian Mbappe finished second and third in 2023, respectively, and are again back in contention.
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