Neymar once refused to pick Cristiano Ronaldo among top five players in the world as his old comments come to light

Former Barcelona attacker Neymar was once asked to name his top five players in the world. The Brazilian had omitted Cristiano Ronaldo's name from his list at the time.

While playing for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2020, Neymar picked his top five players. According to Spanish outlet MARCA, he started with two of his former Barcelona teammates, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

The Brazilian attacker then named his former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, followed by Chelsea legend Eden Hazard and Paul Pogba. He didn't pick any of his Brazil teammates and also snubbed five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

The former PSG star had added that he would have loved to play alongside Romario, Zinedine Zidane, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Ronaldo Nazario. After spending six years at Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar left Les Parisians to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal for a reported transfer fee of €90 million in September 2023.

Only a month later, the Brazil international tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during the international break. Since joining the Saudi Arabia side, the 32-year-old has only made seven appearances across competitions, scoring one and assisting three goals.

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Manchester City-supporting boxer names Cristiano Ronaldo as his dream opponent

Tyson Fury v Sefer Seferi - Heavyweight Fight - Source: Getty

Former British professional boxer Ricky Hatton has named Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo as his dream opponent. Hatton is a huge Manchester City supporter and once named former Georgian midfielder Georgi Kinkladze as his favorite footballer.

Meanwhile, in a recent interview with Betway, Hatton talked about all the contracting factors between Ronaldo and him. The Portuguese icon is a Manchester United legend, who has played for the Red Devils in two different spells. Moreover, Hatton lavished praise on the 39-year-old for his personality and looks. He said:

"I'd probably have to say Cristiano Ronaldo. I've never met Cristiano. I believe he's a good lad but let's have it right. He did play for Manchester United. He's really good-looking. Why would you not want to knock him out? If you played for Manchester United - the best player in the world and he's good-looking fella. The opposite to me."

Ricky Hatton is a former welterweight and light-welterweight World champion with a professional career record of 45-3. Out of his 45 victories, 32 came via knockouts.