Neymar overtakes Pele for most assists with the Brazilian national team

Paris Saint-Germain striker Neymar has broken footballing legend Pele's long-standing record of providing the most assists while playing for the country. The PSG superstar has the most assist on the national team with the 29-year-old attacker managing to break the record in the dying minutes of Brazil's last Copa America game. Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro converted Neymar's ball and slotted it in the back of the net to score the winner and hand Brazil a narrow 2-1 win over Colombia on Thursday.

Neymar Brazil stats

Neymar now has the most assists for Brazil football team following his critical pass to Casemiro against Colombia. He is also on track to break yet another record currently held by Pele. Currently with 68 goals for Seleção in international football, Neymar is just a few strikes away from breaking Pele's recording of being the top goal-scorer for Brazil national football team.

According to the official figures from FIFA, Pelé tops the goal-scoring charts for Brazil with 77 goals in his tally. The legendary goal scorer's record is not far off sight now for Neymar who managed to find the back of the net against Peru last week to score the second goal of the match as Brazil went on to register a massive 4-0 win over their Copa America opponents. Following a fantastic goal against Peru, Neymar has reduced the gap separating him from matching Pele's tally to just nine goals. 

The 29-year-old attacker was caught up in his emotions after Brazil’s victory in Rio de Janeiro as he came out of the Nilton Santos Stadium for a post-match interview. A teary-eyed Neymar was quoted speaking about the honour he feels to play for the Selecao and be a part of history for the Brazil team.

Often known for wearing his heart on his sleeve whenever he plays for Brazil national football team, Neymar was quoted saying that he had imagined reaching these numbers and that It moves him because he had been through a lot these past two years calling them "difficult and complicated".

Neymar could be referring to the previous two seasons where he failed to win the Champions League after losing to Bayern Munich in the UCL final back in 2020. The 29-year-old attacker also missed a lot of matches due to several injuries and the PSG star was also on the receiving end of a sexual assault allegation. He is expected to be the Selecao's top scorer before they participate in the 2022 FIFA World Cup which will be played in Qatar as he looks to pen himself down as a true legend in Brazilan football.

Image Source: Neymar/ Instagram