Rivaldo gives verdict on Neymar joining Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus instead of Barcelona

Neymar has agitated for a Paris Saint-Germain departure all summer, with the Brazil international having been expected to return to Spain.

He spent four years of his career with Barcelona, leaving the Catalan club to join PSG for £198million two years ago.

And it is the La Liga champions who have been seen as the most likely to snap up the 27-year-old this summer.

But Real Madrid have entered the equation of late having long been linked with the South American forward. 

Now it appears Juventus have also established interest in Neymar, with reports indicating that the Serie A giants could include Paulo Dybala in a player-plus-cash deal to bring him to Italy.

The Italian champions are desperate for Champions League success having gone without a triumph in Europe since 1996 and displayed their desire to end that lengthy wait 12 months ago by signing Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

They could now thwart both Los Blancos and El Clasico rivals Barcelona by landing Neymar.

And Barca hero Rivaldo believes his fellow Brazilian would work well alongside Ronaldo in Turin.

“It now seems like Juventus are also thinking about signing Neymar,” he told Betfair. “It would be great to see him playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. 

“I believe it would be wonderful for CR7 to have Neymar by his side, as the Brazilian would help him a lot with assists and goals all season.

“I even imagine them combining for brilliant plays and Neymar could also help by sharing responsibilities as Juventus only has one big star now. 

“It would be a beneficial move for the players and naturally for the club.

“With Neymar wishing to leave PSG, it will be important that a transfer is complete before deadline day at the end of the month, after all it would be tough for him to stay in France.

“He would have all the fans against him for a while and it’s never easy to be booed by your own club fans.”

Rivaldo thinks Neymar would be able to overcome the negative reception from the PSG fans if he were to remain at the Parc des Princes, however.

He added: “Yep, Neymar has enough personality to handle it if necessary, and prove his value anyway, as he is a great player.”

PSG boss Thomas Tuchel insists the player will only leave if they can source a replacement first.

“He won’t go without a replacement, it’s not possible,” the German said of Neymar. “It’s obvious. If he does end up staying, we will have a player who can win one-on-ones.

“He wasn’t there in the Super Cup or against Nimes either. All of the questions are about him but he isn’t the problem.

“At the moment, he won’t play because he hasn’t trained with the rest. The risk of injury is too high.”

source: express.co.uk