Real Madrid defender Marcelo claims new signing Eden Hazard just isn’t as good as Neymar.
The Brazilian says he would welcome his national team-mate to the Santiago Bernabeu even though he’s reportedly plotting a move from Paris Saint-Germain to Barcelona.
Former Chelsea winger Hazard is so far Madrid’s biggest during a busy transfer window as he joined last month for a €100 million fee.
Marcelo recognises Hazard has the quality to be among the best in the world but insisted that Neymar is the superior player.
“Eden’s a top player,” he said in an interview with Marca.
“A player of high quality and, like Neymar, has the quality to be in the top five.
“He’s impressive, you cannot compare them, but Neymar is better for me.”
Barcelona remain the favourites to sign Neymar this summer, a move that would reunite him with the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez while also linking up with new signing Antoine Griezmann.
Neymar featured for the Blaugrana from 2013-17, scoring 105 goals in 186 games before joining PSG for a world record €222m.
Marcelo though is keen to put aside Neymar’s Barcelona past and welcome him to the Santiago Bernabeu.
“Neymar is an unpredictable player,” Marcelo said.
“When defending when you have anticipated something, he has already thought of something else and it’s impossible to defend.
“Having Neymar at Real Madrid would be a huge pleasure. Madrid have to do everything to sign the best players in the world and his past at Barcelona would not be a problem.”
