Lula reveals talk with Carlo Ancelotti about Neymar’s World Cup call-up | OneFootball

"I had the chance to speak to Ancelotti. He asked me if Neymar should be called up. I said that if he is physically ready, he has the football. We need to know if he wants it. If he wants it, he needs to be professional, to look to Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. Then he goes to the national team because he is still young. He cannot go by his name, he has to go by his football."

He was speaking to Brasil 247, Revista Fórum and DCM.

At the weekend, Ancelotti told L’Équipe he believes Santos’ No 10 could be 100% fit for the World Cup.

Neymar underwent knee arthroscopy in December last year and returned in the second half of February. Since then he has three goals and three assists in seven appearances.

In the Paulistão, he came on against Velo Clube and provided an assist, then started against Novorizontino in the quarter-final defeat.

In the Brasileiro, he started and scored twice against Vasco and once against Internacional, added assists versus Corinthians and Remo, and also featured against Atlético-MG.

The final World Cup squad will be announced on 18 May. Before then, Neymar has 10 fixtures scheduled for Santos, two in the Copa do Brasil against Coritiba, five in the Brasileirão against Fluminense, Bahia, Palmeiras, Bragantino and Coritiba, and three in the Sul-Americana against Recoleta twice and San Lorenzo.

Source: Diario Do Peixe