Neymar should not captain Brazil at Copa America – Edmilson

Neymar should not be Brazil’s captain for the Copa America as other players have more leadership experience, according to Edmilson.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward has had another injury-hit campaign but has returned to fitness in time for this year’s tournament.

Neymar appeared to be affected by the burden of expectation on his shoulders when playing for Brazil at the World Cup last year.

And PSG coach Thomas Tuchel has ruled out making Neymar captain of his club, preferring to keep faith with compatriots Thiago Silva and Marquinhos.

Brazil start their Copa America campaign with group games against Bolivia, Venezuela and Peru, and Edmilson has told coach Tite to look elsewhere for his captain.

“It’s a squad list where there are people with experience and who were already captains,” the former Barcelona and Brazil defender told reporters.

“In my opinion, this is not the ideal time to deliver the armband to Neymar, but the final decision is with Tite.

Desde pequeno sempre foi um objetivo chegar a este momento. Muito orgulho de ter mais uma oportunidade de defender a seleção do meu país  obrigado Deus pic.twitter.com/HJlORo1U4M

— Neymar Jr (@neymarjr) May 17, 2019

“The list has once again been the subject of debate, the diversity of players is good and we have several alternatives in each position.

“It is clear that Tite feels the pressure of having to win this Copa America at home, these have been chosen by the coach to get the title.”

Tite left out Real Madrid duo Marcelo and Vinicius Junior for his Copa America squad, with Porto full-back Alex Telles another notable absentee.

Brazil face Qatar and Honduras in pre-tournament friendlies before getting the tournament underway on June 14.