Neymar should have won five Ballons d’Or, claims Buffon

Neymar should have won the Ballon d'Or five times, says Gianluigi Buffon.

Italian great Buffon played a season alongside Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain in 2018/19.

Neymar joined PSG in a world record transfer from Barcelona in 2017, but failed to propel the French club to their first Champions League trophy.

He left in 2023 to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia but barely played for the Asian giants. He is back on the sidelines with a hamstring problem, having just returned from a year-long layoff following an anterior crucial ligament (ACL) injury.

Neymar was tipped for greatness when he moved to Europe from Santos, but despite a glittering career, especially at Barcelona, ​​he never managed to win the Ballon d'Or.

pic.twitter.com/jDxeZ6ZFzR

— Neymar Jr. (@neymarjr) October 22, 2024

And that is something that upsets his former clubmate Buffon.

“It is difficult to choose a rival,” Buffon told Corriere della Sera

“I played against three generations: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta… Choose one? Neymar.

“For the player he is and the person he is, he should have won five Ballons d'Or.”

Even at PSG, Neymar was often overshadowed by Kylian Mbappé.

When Messi joined that deadly duo in 2021, the trio failed to have the impact on the European stage that PSG's Qatari owners would have liked.