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What is the story?
Brazil manager, Tite, has heaped praise on Neymar by referring to him as one of the top three players in the world along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
According to the veteran manager, Neymar is better than Real Madrid's latest addition Eden Hazard, because the Brazilian can run the play faster.
In case you didn’t know….
Real Madrid officially announced Hazard’s signing on Friday for a transfer fee worth £88 million, with a possibility of exceeding £130 million. Hazard joined the Los Blancos on the back of a Europa League triumph with the Blues.
Meanwhile, Neymar’s season hit rock bottom after he was ruled out of Brazil’s upcoming Copa America campaign due to an ankle injury in their warm-up match against Qatar. The gifted attacker has also missed the business end of PSG’s season, as the Parisian giants has once again failed to make a mark in Europe.
The heart of the matter…
When asked about Neymar’s absence in Copa America ahead of their last warm-up match against Honduras on Sunday, Tite claimed that Neymar is among the top three players with Ronaldo and Messi, leaving Hazard behind.
“Neymar is a top-three player in the world,” he said.
“For me, apart from Messi and Ronaldo, he compares to Hazard, but he has an advantage over Hazard, they think the same way, but he (Neymar) runs the plays faster.”
Tite has also expressed his concern about missing Neymar in the upcoming Copa America campaign.
"My feelings (in relation to Neymar) is of concern for the human side and for him to be in good health,” he added. “And second, I have concern and regret not having a player of his quality.”
"He is the player that we ask for. I'm talking about the athlete, not all the other circumstances behind it. I told him that. And that's my opinion."
What’s next?
Hazard will be presented as a Real Madrid player on 13 June at Santiago Bernabau, after completing a medical.
Meanwhile, Brazil are scheduled to play Bolivia on the 14th of June in their first Copa America Group A fixture in São Paulo.
