“It is not possible that Messi does not serve as an example to other Brazilian players. A 36-year-old guy, he was a world champion and won the Ballon d’Or,” Lula said on his regular Talking with the President on Tuesdays.

For Lula, the Argentine player should be an inspiration for the young talent “who appears on television, who people think is going to be a star and who soon disappears.”

He noted the number of goals scored by Messi and Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo.

“It is absurd to see Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia scoring 40 goals in 43 games. It is more than the entire Corinthians team in two championships. It makes me sad to see Messi in the United States, scoring 30 goals in 43 games and winning the Ballon d’Or at the age of 36,” Lula aid.

According to the former trade union leader, Brazil is no longer capable of creating good players. “How many years has it been since Brazil had a real idol? I keep thinking about the 1970 team (they won the world championship for the third time), and 2002 (they won the title for the fifth time),” he said.

Lula pointed out that “the last great team was the one in 2006, which lost, I would say, due to an accident. That team shouldn’t have lost because it was very good,” he added.

He admitted that “they have not won anything for 22 years. The way it is, the way people see the other teams and the Brazilian team play, if people do not realize that we need to improve, be more serious and responsible. We are going to spend more time without winning a title, and the title counts for a lot,” he noted.

The Brazilian president recalled that “we went from 1970 to 1994 (the year we won the fourth championship) without winning. We had extraordinary teams in 1982 and 1986, but they did not win,” he stressed.

Lula also criticized the premature sales of Brazilian soccer talents to other countries.

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