Neymar Snubs Pedri And Bellingham as he Names Shock Best Midfielder in The World

Neymar has shunned the likes of Pedri and Jude Bellingham by making a different shock selection for the best midfielder in the world in his view.

The 33-year-old Brazilian attacker originally came through the youth team ranks at hometown club Santos in his native land before moving to Barcelona in 2013.

At the Camp Nou, Neymar went on to form part of one of football's most formidable attacking trios ever alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as he won two La Liga titles and the Champions League with Barca.

However, after scoring 105 goals in 186 appearances in Catalonia, the Brazilian stunned the football world in 2017 by leaving the Camp Nou to join French side Paris Saint-Germain.

Neymar moved to the Parc des Princes in the most expensive transfer in football history after PSG met the release clause in his Barcelona contract which was worth €222m, or £200m.

Though Neymar was very much successful domestically with PSG after winning five Ligue 1 titles and scoring 118 goals in 173 appearances across all competitions, a Champions League crown eluded the Brazilian during his time in the French capital.

The attacker left PSG in 2023 for €90m as the French side recouped some of the world record transfer fee they parted company with in 2017.

Neymar. (Image: Getty)

Neymar moved to Al-Hilal, but he only scored once in just seven appearances for the Saudi Arabian side before his contract was terminated in January 2025.

He has now returned to hometown club Santos, while he has become Brazil's all-time leading goalscorer with 79 strikes in 128 caps for his country.

Recently, Neymar gave his views on who he feels in currently the best midfielder in the world - and he snubbed the likes of Barcelona star Pedri and Real Madrid's Bellingham as he opted for one of the latter's team-mates in the form of Arda Guler.

He said: "Arda Guler is an amazing player. He has quality so I think he is the best midfielder in the world."

The 20-year-old attacker is seen as one of the brightest young talents in the game and came through the youth teams at Fenerbahce before signing for Real in the summer of 2023 for an initial transfer fee of €20m.

The Turkey international has gone on to score 15 goals in 88 games for Los Blancos, winning the La Liga title, the Champions League, Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup in his time so far at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Guler also has six goals in 26 caps for Turkey, having made his international debut in 2022.