Contrary to a classic No. 10 such as Zico, who had outstanding ball control and was always trying to put his teammates in position to score, Neymar is constantly challenging defenders and using his dribbling skills to get near the opponent's area.
Although it remains too early to tell how Neymar will be compared to other Brazilian greats, it's likely that his success will depend largely on whether he can win with Brazil and lead the five-time world champion back to its glory days.
Pele had already won two World Cups by the time he was 22. Neymar missed out on a chance to win his first world title thanks in part to a back injury that ruled him out of some of this year's tournament in Brazil.
And there is always the chance that Neymar may never be as good as everyone expects, as happened to Robinho, who also was touted as a promising star when he transferred to European soccer as a 21-year-old. Also a Santos player, Robinho moved to Real Madrid instead of Barcelona, but never played up to expectations.
He played in two World Cups and remains with the national team, but never became the type of star that Brazilians had hoped for after he started making headlines as a teenager.
Only time will tell if Neymar will be more like Robinho or more like Pele.
