The Barcelona and Brazil star borrowed attributes from six of his idols to create the greatest of all time
Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Eusebio, Puskas, Messi… there are several players who will split arguments over who is the greatest of all time, but were any of them perfect?
Many consider Pele the most complete, a genius who combined a mesmeric talent with the brain and athleticism to conquer all before him.
But did Diego Maradona eclipse his talent, if not his sense of professionalism? Was Cruyff the greatest conductor of team the game has seen? His ideals permeated throughout the game like no other, and his impact is still being felt throughout the world as the game’s great innovators tweak and expand the fundamentals of what the world labelled Total Football.
But football is the most collective of sports, and so to find the perfect player we likely have to borrow a little from many.
Neymar did exactly that in a recent interview with CNN, borrowing attributes from six of his idols to combine for the perfect footballer.
PACE AND ACCELERATION: RONALDO
FIRST TOUCH: ROMARIO
TECHNIQUE: LIONEL MESSI
STRENGTH: RONALDO
VISON: RONALDINHO
PERSONALITY: ANDRES INIESTA
SENSE OF HUMOUR: DANI ALVES
FASHION SENSE: DANI ALVES
HAIRCUT: NEYMAR
