Former Brazil attacker Romario has expressed his belief that Neymar will surpass Pele as the Selecao's all-time leading scorer.

Pele, who is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time, won three World Cups with Brazil, in addition to scoring 77 times in 92 appearances for the South American country.

However, Romario has claimed that Neymar, who has hit 40 goals in 58 games for his country, will pass Pele's total.

"Even though he is still young, Neymar is well aware of what he means for the world of football, and for the Brazilian game in particular," Romario told Lancenet.

"He is the one player the Brazilian people believe in and he has everything to make history.

"There have been a lot of players who scored a lot, but weren't able to do so for Brazil. This was not the World Cup for him, but there's still time. He's only 22 and already near Brazil's three all-time top goal scorers. If he manages to keep this up, he will surpass Pele."

Neymar was recently appointed Brazil's new permanent captain.