Jorge Jesús: "Neymar could reach Cristiano Ronaldo's level if he was smarter"

The current coach of Brazilian side Flamengo, Jorge Jesús, spoke to 'Globo Esporte' about the best players in world football. Unsurprisingly, the Portuguese manager opted for Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Lionel Messi.

"For me, Cristiano Ronaldo is the best. I don't have any doubts about that. He doesn't score 10 or 20 goals but 30, 40 or 50. He doesn't need to be as 'artistic' as Messi," claims Jesus. "Everyone needs to look at Ronaldo. Not just for his quality but for how he is as a professional, how he reached the level he's at. It should be a lesson to any child who wants to play football."

When asked about the greatest player of all time, Jesus admitted he hadn't seen may of the greats play live. "I've never seen Pele, Puskas, Garrincha play. I saw the final few years of Maradona, plus Messi and Ronaldo are from another planet. They have different styles but both are something exceptional." As for the best of all time? "I don't know. My idol was Cruyff. Maradona was fantastic. Messi too. Ronaldinho, who like Neymar, could've reached a higher level if they had the training and mindset that Cristiano Ronaldo has."

Jesus doubled down on his Neymar take. "He needs to change the way he thinks or he won't get to that level. If what you have away from the game is more important than perfecting your own play, you'll never become the best. That's what Ronaldo has, the passion (to succeed). That's the difference."