It has been a rough few weeks for Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar.
The Brazilian, along with Argentine great Lionel Messi, has been jeered constantly by PSG supporters for many weeks now, culminating in their humiliating exit from the Champions League.
Following PSG’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid, things took a turn for the worse on Sunday as the league leaders slumped to a 3-0 loss at Monaco.
Amid the turmoil, Lyon midfielder and fellow Brazilian Lucas Paqueta came to Neymar's defence.
"Neymar is above all a great person, a great professional, with incredible talent. He's without a doubt the best player on the Brazilian national team," Paqueta said at the training centre in Teresopolis where Brazil are preparing for the final round of World Cup 2022 qualifiers.
"It's a privilege to have him with us. When I've got Neymar at my side, I feel stronger, and my teammates too."
Neymar, 30, will be hoping for a better outing as he returns to the national team after missing the last round of World Cup qualifiers due to an ankle injury.
"PSG were eliminated, so the press and fans are going to criticise him for that. But he's been recovering from injury. He's getting stronger by the day, and I'm sure he's going to do a great job helping the Selecao," said Paqueta.
Brazil, who have already qualified for the Qatar World Cup in November, face Chile on Thursday and Bolivia next Tuesday in the final round of qualifiers.
Brazil will be aiming for a South American qualifying record in their two remaining games. Two wins would give Tite’s team 45 points, two more than Argentina’s record set ahead of the 2002 World Cup.
