Featured Image Credit: Players Tribune
Topics: Gianluigi Buffon, Neymar, Football, Ballon d'Or, Juventus, PSG
Tom Jenkins
Topics: Gianluigi Buffon, Neymar, Football, Ballon d'Or, Juventus, PSG
Italian football legend Gianluigi Buffon has named the one opposition player he believes should have achieved more in his career due to his immense talent.
Buffon retired from professional football back in 2023 after 28 years at the sport's highest level.
The shot-stopper spent 19 of those years between the sticks at Juventus over two spells with a season-long spell at PSG in between.
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Due to his immense longevity, the Italian has played against some of the best footballers of the last three decades, and in an interview with Corriere della Sera, he picked out one opponent for praise.
When asked who his 'finest opponent' was, he said: "It's hard to pick. I played against three generations: Zidane, Ronaldo, Messi, Cristiano, Iniesta...
"Choose one? Neymar. For the player he is and the person he is, he should've won five Ballons d'Or," he added.
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Buffon played with Neymar 13 times during his season at PSG and came up against him for Barcelona during his time at Juventus, with the Brazilian scoring past him in the 2015 Champions League final.
Neymar never finished inside the top two of the Ballon d'Or despite his immense talent and success at Barcelona and PSG, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominating his prime years in the sport.
Despite many players shying away from admitting their goal is the Ballon d'Or, Neymar very openly stated it was a dream of his to pick up the award, but insisted the team comes first.
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"I want to win the Ballon d'Or, but I'm in no hurry to do so," he once told Sport Express.
"It’s one of my objectives, something I dream of, but personal ambition isn't why I play the game.
"I play because I like to and enjoy helping the team and making fans happy- only once I do that, do I hope to achieve personal records," he added.
Neymar is now back at his boyhood club Santos following a brief stop in the Saudi Pro League, however, despite promising displays the winger's injury issues continue to weigh him down.