Every year in the vote for the best player in world football, there is always one talent whose finish in the final vote tally ends up confusing many.
With no Ballon d’Or being awarded this year, the focus turned to The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2020 award where FC Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski claimed the honor. In the final vote, there were many questionable finishes among the top 10, including Neymar placing ninth.
Former Brazilian forward Zinho was appalled at the fact that Neymar placed ninth in the vote. Zinho’s view towards the vote is not much about Neymar’s performances for Paris Saint-Germain this year but rather that the current Brazilian forward is not very respected among his peers.
The former Gremio forward recently spoke (via UOL) about the award vote and the reputation factor that he believes played a role in why Neymar did not garner many votes from players and coaches.
“People from Europe do not vote for Neymar as the best in the world,” Zinho said. “No coach or captain voted for him. Neymar does not enjoy prestige where he plays.
“I think that his position, the fight against racism in the PSG game together with Mbappe, can change his image a little bit. On the pitch, they respect him. I think it tells a lot about who he is and does outside the field.”
In the final vote tally for the award, Neymar finished high among the fans (2nd) but low among the national team captains (10th), coaches (10th) and media (11th). And on the latter three voting groups, teammate Kylian Mbappe placed higher than Neymar in each one.
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