Former Barcelona star Rivaldo has urged Neymar to leave Santos and his native country for Europe as soon as possible, in order to gain valuable experience ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
The Seleção forward has been heavily linked with moves to Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United, among others, over the past two months.
However, Neymar has reiterated his desire to honour the contract with his boyhood club and remain in Brazil until after the World Cup, which Rivaldo thinks is the wrong decision.
The 40-year-old said: “We all need some changes every now and then. Neymar must leave Brazil and his familiar surroundings. He should come to Europe in order to gain experience.”
Neymar’s former Santos teammate Ganso recently moved to São Paulo, wheras Lucas Moura will make the move to French club Paris Saint-Germain in January, with Rivaldo believing the latter is the right thing to do for the young Brazilians.
He added: “We were already talking about the same matter in relation to players like Ganso and Lucas a year ago. They will be there for the World Cup and need to move as well.
“You need experience at the World Cup and the best way to gain experience is to play against the best, which is the case in Europe.
“These players have to make the move to Europe as soon as possible.”
Rivaldo currently plays for Angolan side Kabuscorp, after wearing the jerseys of teams like Milan, Olympiacos and São Paulo.
