Brazil legend Ronaldo thinks Neymar and other Brazilian athletes need psychological support to handle the "disproportionate pressure" of the World Cup.
Neymar acknowledged that he was "psychologically crushed" following his team's World Cup quarterfinal loss to Croatia on penalties.
"I would advise having psychological support to withstand this pressure, which is extremely disproportionate for human beings. Neymar will come back with the same passion, with the same desire. But I wanted to reinforce this need to monitor the mental health of our players ... It is very important for us to address this issue, especially when it comes to the World Cup, where the whole world is looking at the national team. The world was looking at Neymar," said Ronaldo as quoted by ESPN.
Neymar, 30, was determined to win his first major championship with Brazil and was able to compete in the tournament's knockout phase after recovering from an ankle injury he suffered in their opening group match against Serbia.
He scored in extra time against Croatia before Bruno Petkovic tied it up and the game went to penalties, tying him with Pele for the most goals scored by a person in Brazil's history (77).
"When I saw the [Neymar's] interview saying that he was psychologically destroyed, it broke my heart in a way that I was also psychologically destroyed. I wanted to find a way to help him. That help exists today. In my day it was little talked about," added Ronaldo.
Brazil suffered heartbreak after they were knocked out of the World Cup by Croatia in the quarterfinals.
Brazil is now searching for a new head coach after Tite announced his resignation following the team's elimination from the World Cup after six years in command.
According to reports in Brazil, Carlo Ancelotti is a candidate to succeed Tite as head coach of the national team, and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is reportedly willing to wait until the summer of 2023 to make the appointment.
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