RIO DE JANEIRO – The Brazilian player Neymar He got emotional this Thursday after scoring his 68th goal with Scratch in the 4-0 win over Peru, for the second day of Group B of the Copa América in Brazil.
“For me it is a very great honor to be part of the history of the Brazilian team. I never imagined being able to reach these numbers. And it is even exciting because I went through a lot these two years, which were very difficult and complicated,” said the star of Canarinha on the pitch of Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro.
“Today we are living a very atypical moment, a very difficult moment in the whole world (due to the coronavirus pandemic) and being able to be someone’s joy is an enormous joy. Really, the story that I am building here, I want my family and my friends be proud, “he completed visibly excited.
The Paris Saint-Germain striker scored his 68th goal for the Brazilian team on Thursday and is now nine away from equaling Pelé as Canarinha’s top scorer.
“Those numbers are nothing, what really matters for me is to wear the shirt of the Brazilian team,” he said.
He also spoke about the controversy surrounding the celebration of the Copa América in Brazil, decided at the last minute after Colombia and Argentina were withdrawn as initial venues, and despite the fact that the pandemic remains uncontrolled in the South American giant.
Neymar said that it was “very complicated” because they reached the concentration “without knowing if there was going to be the Copa América or not.”
“We respect our hierarchies. We will never say no to the Brazilian team jersey. I will never say no to my country,” he said.
“We had an opinion (contrary to the cup) and we expressed it, and today we are here defending the team’s shirt,” he added.
Neymar said that, despite the “difficult” moment, they are showing “joy” to be on the field “to play with the national team.”