Freshly appointed Brazil manager Luis Felipe Scolari believes that Neymar does not have to journey to Europe in order to be accepted as the best player in the world.
The statement follows the recent revelation of the top three candidates for this year"s FIFA Ballon d"Or, with Neymar absent from the list, much to the annoyance of many in his homeland.
Neymar, 20, has insisted he will only head to Europe after the 2014 World Cup, with Barcelona the side most heavily linked with his services, but Scolari insists he will not need to leave to gain recognition.
“I think that, from next year, Neymar won’t be in the top ten [for the FIFA Ballon d’Or], he’ll be in the top three," Felipão told FIFA.com. “That’s where he’ll probably be.
“Neymar doesn’t need to go to Europe to be chosen as the world’s best player, because the coach he has at Santos now has been working with him for over a year. And, during that period, we’ve seen how Neymar has changed in terms of his attitude and his positioning out on the pitch.
“Muricy [Ramalho] has helped and continues to really help Neymar to grow in tactical terms. I don’t believe that he needs to go to Europe to evolve as a player.
“Anyone who knows Neymar knows that he’s been coming on leaps and bounds in the last two or three years and that he’s probably going to come on a lot further too."
