Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian striker Neymar, who was named as the best player of the Confederations Cup after he helped Brazil seal a 3-0 win over world champions Spain in the final on Sunday, said he would need minor throat surgery before his move to Barcelona.
Neymar, who has joined Barcelona from Santos for €57 million (Dh272 million), won the Golden Ball, awarded to the best player in the competition after a vote among the media. Andres Iniesta of Spain and Paulinho from Brazil were second and third respectively.
The 21-year-old Neymar, who scored four goals during the tournament, said he would have the surgery on Friday before he goes to Spain.
“It’s a problem that I have, my throat always bothers me, so we’re going to operate to resolve it once and for all,” he said adding that it was not a serious issue.
Spain’s Fernando Torres, who scored five goals and was joint top scorer along with Fred of Brazil, won the Golden Boot for having an assist in his four matches, while Fred had one assist but played one more match.
Brazil’s Julio Cesar collected the Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper, while Spain took the Fifa Fair Play Trophy.
