Neymar (M) being consoled by Thiago Silva and Dani Alves (R)
Brazil great, Ronaldo, believes Neymar and other Brazilian players should have psychological help to deal with the “disproportionate pressure” from the World Cup.
Neymar admitted after his team’s World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Croatia on penalties that he was “psychologically destroyed.”
“I would advise having a psychological support to withstand this pressure, which is extremely disproportionate for human beings,” Ronaldo said.
“Neymar will come back with the same passion, with the same desire. But I wanted to reinforce this need to monitor the mental health of our players … It is very important for us to address this issue, especially when it comes to the World Cup, where the whole world is looking at the national team. The world was looking at Neymar.”
Looking to win his first major trophy with Brazil, Neymar, 30, had recovered from an ankle injury sustained in their group game opener against Serbia to play in the knockout round of the tournament.
He drew level with Pele as Brazil’s all-time leading men’s scorer with 77 goals after hitting the back of the net in extra time against Croatia before Bruno Petkovic equalised to take the game to penalties.
“When I saw the [Neymar’s] interview saying that he was psychologically destroyed, it broke my heart in a way that I was also psychologically destroyed,” Ronaldo said.
“I wanted to find a way to help him. That help exists today. In my day it was little talked about.”
Ronaldo said earlier in the tournament that he was “shocked” by the level of “envy and evil” that Neymar was having to deal with after getting injured in their group opener against Serbia.
Some Brazilians celebrated Neymar’s misfortune and the two-time Brazil World Cup winner advised the Paris Saint-Germain forward “to turn the hate” he was getting “into fuel.”