Football
ESPN staff 8y

Barcelona's Neymar needs to be more mature - former Brazil coach Zagallo

Former Brazil coach Mario Zagallo believes Neymar is "not as mature as he should be" despite the player's outstanding form for club and country.

Neymar, 24, has scored 27 goals already for Barcelona this season, and has 46 goals in 70 appearances for Brazil.

Zagallo won the World Cup with Brazil as a player in 1958 and 1962, and as a coach in 1970. He also took them to the final of France 98.

He is particularly concerned with the player's disciplinary record with the national team.

The Barca star came in for much criticism after being booked in Friday's 2-2 draw with Uruguay, forcing him out of Tuesday's qualifier against Paraguay. He has more bookings than goals since the start of last year -- five yellows to four goals.

It comes after Neymar had been banned for four games at the Copa America last summer after he received yellow cards in two straight matches and was sent off in Brazil's 1-0 loss to Colombia. That ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament as Brazil lost to Paraguay in the quarterfinals.

Brazil's early exit from the Copa meant that Neymar's suspension carried over into their first two World Cup qualifiers this season.

"I like him [Neymar] a lot. He is an exceptional player, he's got everything it takes to go on even further, but he needs to develop an awareness that he's leading the Brazilian national team," Zagallo told Globo's Extra.

"He can't step out of line. He's not as mature as he should be."

Neymar was also reportedly pictured in a nightclub after the Uruguay draw.

"These are the sort of problems which we can't be having," Zagallo added. "Even more so when you're a star player. Neymar has a reputation to maintain."

Neymar continues to battle allegations of tax fraud, and last month he was reportedly ordered to pay 188.8 million Brazilian reals ($52.1m, €45.9m) in fines and back-taxes for failure to report earnings from his contracts with Santos, Barcelona, and Nike.

"Like it or not, these problems will be going round and round in his head," Zagallo said. "In some part, he's to blame. His father is the one who deals with these matters, but he's the one playing.

"Anyone who finds themselves mixed up in the sort of problems he is ends up being affected by them."

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