Neymar should be stripped of title as Brazil’s captain, Zé Roberto says

Sao Paulo — Former soccer player Zé Roberto has called for superstar Neymar to be stripped of his title as captain of Brazil’s national team after he appeared to hit a fan after the Coupe de France final last month.

“I think not calling him up for the Copa America would be a mistake because he’s the team’s top player, but I think punishing him by stripping him of his title as captain is the best option,” the former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich player said in an interview with EFE.

Zé Roberto, who is about to turn 45, said it was up to national team coach Tite to decide what action to take against the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward, who appeared to throw a punch at a fan who insulted him as he was going to receive the runner-up medal following the Coupe de France final on April 27.

“I think it’s time for Neymar to find himself, to find his career plan and go back to being what everyone expects him to be,” Zé Roberto, who played in 84 matches for the national team and now works for Palmeiras, said.

Zé Roberto was on the national teams that won the Copa America in Bolivia in 1997 and Paraguay in 1999, and finished second at the 1998 World Cup in France.

The retired player, who now serves as an adviser to Palmeiras, said that to be a team captain at any level you had to set “the best example,” adding that Neymar has not done this in light of his recent “error.”

The 27-year-old Neymar was named the permanent captain of the Brazilian national soccer team last September.

Neymar made a “mistake” in leaving Barcelona to “be the star” with another club (in a deal that ranks as the biggest transfer in soccer history), Zé Roberto said, adding that the change in teams was “premature” and affected the PSG forward’s development as a player “a little.”

Zé Roberto played in more than 1,000 matches as a professional, taking the pitch as both a midfielder and a winger.

He competed at a high level until he was 43, when he hung up his cleats for good.

Zé Roberto’s last team was Palmeiras, culminating a long career that saw him become a soccer idol in Germany, where he played with Bayern and el Leverkusen.

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