By sportswriter Michael Place
RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian teenager Rodrygo has described comparisons between him and Neymar as "stupid", insisting that his compatriot is one of a kind.
The Santos forward, who turns 18 next month, is expected to move to Real Madrid this summer, a year after the reigning European champions signed him in a deal reportedly worth 45 million euros.
"Neymar is Neymar, Rodrygo is Rodrygo. What he did, no one will be able to repeat," the Brazil U-20 international told newspaper O Globo.
"People want to compare what we have done but there is no comparison. Neymar is already 26 and has won everything that he has won: the Copa Libertadores, the Olympics, the Champions League. I'm only in my first year as a professional player. It's stupid. I really like Neymar, he is one of my biggest idols, but you can't compare us."
Rodrygo revealed he is friends with the Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil No. 10 and the pair keep in regular contact via social media.
Rodrygo, who scored 12 goals in 58 appearances across all competitions for Santos in 2018, will be among a number of high profile forwards representing Brazil during the South American U-20 championship in Chile next month. Others include Real Madrid's Vinicius and Bayer Leverkusen's Paulinho.
He said he is not yet thinking about Real Madrid, preferring to focus on Santos and Brazil's U-20 team.
"My priority is to do as well as I can in the South American U-20 championship -- to win the title and play well individually.
"Then I want to focus on giving my all for Santos. I'm not really thinking about Madrid yet. The time will come for that.
