Juninho's Criticism Of Brazilian Players With Money

Juninho Pernambucano (Instagram @ 8.juninho)

JAKARTA - Juninho Pernambucano regretted the 'money-first' mentality of Brazilian players. He highlights Neymar's move to Paris Saint-Germain as an example.

The former Lyon midfielder explained that the Brazilian players grew up with the mindset of joining the club that offers them the highest salaries.

"In Brazil we were taught to only care about money but in Europe they have a different mentality," he told the Guardian as quoted by MARCA, Wednesday, July 8. "Without realizing it I made career plans because I wanted to go to another big club in Brazil, and not just play for sports.

“I was taught to go to who would pay me the most. That's the Brazilian way.

He then appointed Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar as one of the players who moved because of a lot of money.

"Look at Neymar. He moved to PSG only because of money. PSG gave him everything, everything he wanted, and now he wants to leave before the end of his contract," explained one of the best free kick executors in the world.

Juninho insists Neymar must live up to the expectations created by his multi-euro move from Barcelona.

"But now is the time (for Neymar) to restore that trust, to show gratitude," he added.

"It was an exchange. Neymar needs to give whatever he can on the pitch, to show total dedication, responsibility and leadership.

"The problem is that establishments in Brazil have a culture of greed and always want more money.

"This is what we were taught and what we learned."

Finally, he praised Neymar's quality but criticized him for his attitude at PSG. He said. he needed to differentiate between Neymar as a player and Neymar as a person.

"As a player, he is in the top three in the world, at the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi. He is fast, tough, can score goals and assist as a number 10 player," said Juninho.

"But as a person, I think he's guilty because he needed to question himself and grow up. However, at this point in time, he's just doing what life teaches him."