The best Brazilian of his generation, Neymar will be out to make yet more history on Tuesday when he trots out at Wembley to face England on the Chevrolet Brasil Global Tour.
The 25-year-old has already surpassed Zico in Brazil goals and is now closing in on the record of former great Romario.
READ MORE:
EXCLUSIVE: Willian | Neymar moved to tears | EXCLUSIVE: Renato Augusto
PSG star Neymar has hit 53 goals in just 82 games for the Selecao. Eternal idol Zico sits just behind him on 48.
And now Neymar, far and away the top scorer among Brazilian players still active in the game, is looking up at ‘Shortie’ Romario, sitting just two goals behind the former PSV and Barcelona man.
That he will eventually surpass Romario is inevitable, but if he wants to reach the milestone in 2017 then it will all come down to this evening’s clash at Wembley.
Neymar gets revenge on JesusRemember when Gabriel Jesus nutmegged Neymar yesterday? Well look who just got his own back
Posted by Brasil Global Tour on Monday, November 13, 2017
To match Romario to night, Neymar will need to do score his first ever goal against England. In two previous matches against football’s inventors, a draw and a defeat, Brazil’s no.10 was firing blanks.
With Romario’s record now in sight, a brace against the English would see him draw level and then set about targeting the records of two all-time greats: Ronaldo and Pele.
The second-highest scorer in the history of the national team, Ronaldo hit 67 goals, while three-time world champions Pele has 77.
#CBGT London - Sunday's #Brasil training session [via CBF] pic.twitter.com/U4RmqJ3STk
— Brasil Global Tour (@BGT_ENG) November 13, 2017
It is worth mentioning that these figures are only from official matches recognised by world governing body FIFA.
Taking into account unofficial matches and those played by teams that were not the full senior international side, Neymar is fifth behind Pele, Ronaldo, Zico and Romario.