Cesc Fabregas insists Neymar is on Ronaldinho's level

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 05 May 2020

Cesc Fabregas insists that former Barcelona teammate Neymar has everything required to "be the best" and compares the Brazilian to his compatriot Ronaldinho.

Cesc Fabregas has claimed that former Barcelona teammate Neymar deserves to be held in the same regard as club legend Ronaldinho.

The winger starred for Barcelona during a four-year stay at Camp Nou, scoring 105 goals in 186 games and helping the club to eight trophies including the 2015 Champions League.

Neymar left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record deal in 2017 but has been repeatedly linked with a return to Spain since, and Fabregas insists that he has everything he needs to "be the best".

"Neymar is an outlier, he has qualities at the level of Ronaldinho. He is a superstar that makes the difference when he wants. It's been a while since I played with him and he recently killed us in two games with PSG," Fabregas told Marca.

"[Lionel Messi], Luis [Suarez] and the rest liked having him in the team because at any moment he could give you an assist or dribble, something that is difficult in an evenly matched game.

"He has everything to be the best. Off the pitch he is a very good kid. He is like a child; he is always happy and enjoys life."

Neymar is reportedly willing to take a 50% pay cut in order to secure a return to Barca this summer.