Some Takes Are Understandable, Some Are Hot, But Cundy Take On Neymar is Unforgiveable
Cundy In The Hot Seat After Completely Unjustified Neymar Hate
While Jason Cundy may be garnering the status of a national treasure for all of his Tottenham-centric banter towards former Spurs man and Sports Bar co-host Jamie O’Hara, he has also highlighted the risks of airing your own personal opinion on national broadcast this week after some questionable statements regarding Brazilian legend Neymar.
Usually a figure of fun and chat, Cundy came under unfamiliar fire this week after he claimed that Neymar is one of the “most overrated players ever” while taking part in a video titled “Jason Cundy vs 20 Football Fans”, in which he debated a number of hot topics in the world of football.
The first debate surrounded Neymar and whether he is the most overrated player in football history, and as you may be able to tell me the title, Cundy steadfastly in favour of the statement.
Neymar? Nay Mate
Neymar is one of the most talented attackers to play the game in recent memory, with only the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Luis Suarez able to match or exceed the Brazilian’s output.
Cundy’s argument, though, is that Neymar was only able to produce this output because of the players he played with, primarily at Barcelona.
“After he left Barcelona, he never won another major honour again, and the reason he won all the honours he did with Barcelona is because he had Busquets, Xavi, Messi, Suarez,” said Cundy, and upon hearing that the attacker had won titles in France, the former Chelsea centre-back was exasperated, saying, “I said major honours!”
"When he left Barcelona he never won a major honour again..."
— Zac Djellab (@ZacDjellab) September 21, 2026
Is Neymar one of the most overrated players ever? 🤨@thejftv pic.twitter.com/7H4eU6e4Jz
Naturally, the fans arguing against the point brought with them plenty of evidence to suggest that Neymar isn’t overrated. His 2017/18 season, right after his record-breaking transfer from Barca to PSG, saw him accumulate 44 goal contributions in just 30 games, and his eight league titles should certainly be considered as major honours.
However, Cundy remained stubborn on his stance, responding, “He’s a YouTube player that literally lived off the back of Messi, and here’s the thing. When he went to PSG, he was brought in to win the Champions League. He was a lazy individual - if you’re a full back on the right-hand side, do you want to see Neymar in front of you? No, because all you’ll see is his shirt number 30 yards up the pitch!”
When the fan opposite him argued that as a defender, he would know that Neymar would win him the game, Cundy targetted Neymar’s biggest short-coming - the Champions League final defeat of 2020.
“He had three 1v1’s. I was sitting there thinking, ‘please miss’ - I remember it! You are defending failure.”
Cundy conveniently forgot to mention that Neymar notched seven goals and assists in that same Champions League season in what was an injury-hit season for the Brazilian, or the fact that he also managed 29 goals and assists while for the most part failing to regularly play 90 minutes thanks to these injuries.
Cundy’s overarching point, the fact that he never won a major honour with PSG, Al-Hilal or Brazil, is understandable, and completely worth pointing out, but his shortcomings at a trophy-winning level do not mean that he was overrated on an individual level.
Still Cundy blundered on, this time arguing that Neymar was a ‘coward’: “He wanted to be the greatest player in the world, and he knew he couldn’t do that while sitting next to Messi. So he goes to PSG, because they’ve got the money to go and make him the greatest player in the world. Then what happens is, he fails there, and then they bring Messi!”
🗣️ Jason Cundy on Neymar : “When he left Barcelona he never won a major honour again”
— Football Park (@thefootballpark) September 22, 2026
“The reason he won all the honours at Barcelona is because he had busquets, Xavi, Messi and Suarez
“Ligue 1 title is not a major honour because it’s a farmers league”
“He is the most… pic.twitter.com/XxZZZk7IeQ
Cundy could not be more false – Neymar moved because Barca were promised a record fee (one that still stands to this day), and Neymar was promised a contract and salary that would leave him never wishing for more money again. If it was a matter of setting up his family and future generations for life, I would call that an unqualified success. It certainly wasn’t cowardice.
Cundy even went as far as to say he would take prime Eden Hazard over prime Neymar. “If you’re in the trenches, and you need someone to dig you out of a hole, you’re picking Hazard. Hazard did it in the Premier League!”
There is no denying that Hazard was also a generational player, and one who also didn’t achieve all that he potentially could have despite being a massive success at Chelsea, but there is a reason that PSG were willing to break all records to get Neymar after the Brazilian had netted 105 times in four seasons at Barcelona.
Neymar is Brazil’s record goalscorer with 80 goals, topping Pele’s total, and boasts another 57 international assists. On top of that, while at club level, the winger notched 377 goals while also setting up a further 160 for his teammates.
For those of you who can’t do the math, that amounts to 674 total career goal contributions, a number that only a very special few can brag about exceeding, and those individuals include the four mentioned previously, Ferenc Puskas, Pele and Gerd Muller.
In terms of both team and individual honours, Neymar perhaps fell a little short of expectations, and in truth, that was down to playing in one of the most competitive eras in football history, where every awards ceremony was headlined by either Messi or Ronaldo.
However, so many other players are not judged by their trophy haul and instead by their quality and talent on and off the pitch – why should Neymar be any different?
❌ "I'm not having him."
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) June 12, 2026
Jason Cundy insists Neymar is the most overrated footballer of this generation 🤯
📺 Watch the full YouTube video: https://t.co/BIYGPUE6X8#FIFAWorldCup #Neymar #Brazil #talkSPORT pic.twitter.com/i8IoT9sqPL
As Luca, the fan arguing against Cundy, said, Neymar transcends football - he is worshipped something close to a god back in Brazil, while his joyful, beautiful, joga bonito style of football captured the imagination of billions around the world. No overrated player can do that.
Unsurprisingly, after such a passionate attack on Neymar, it is not Cundy's first rodeo when it comes to attacking the former Barcelona man. In June of this year, he said, "Give me Hazard every day of the week, I'm not having him (Neymar)," while in a debate with TalkSport guest Gabriel Agbonlahor, while back in March, he even went as far as to say that Saka is better than Neymar ever was.
Cundy, you're a great podcast host mate, but don’t let your temporary fame obscure your vision - with social media full of ragebait and false opinions, it is easy to fall into the same trap as your competitors, but there are some lines that simply shouldn’t be crossed.
Joe Ryan 
