Former Argentina international Javier Zanetti has backed Paris Saint-Germain‘s Neymar to reach the same level as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, starting with this summer’s World Cup.

The 26-year-old was set to be the star of his home World Cup four years ago, only for his tournament to be cruelly cut short by an injury suffered in the quarter-final that scuppered his team’s chances – with Brazil suffering a stunning loss in their first game without him, the infamous 7-1 semi-final defeat to eventual champions Germany.

Four years on and Neymar is now thought of as the player most likely to challenge Ronaldo and Messi’s hegemony on the status of best player in the world, and Zanetti agrees.

“Neymar is very strong, has great quality and is very close to Messi and Ronaldo,” he told Mediaset.

“I believe that this World Cup can be his consecration.”

Brazil, who are one of the favourites to lift the trophy this summer, begin their campaign on Sunday against Switzerland, before playing Costa Rica and Serbia in their other Group E fixtures.