In 2024, Wolves said farewell to Pedro Neto after five years of service at Molineux.
Injuries prevented the winger from having an impact greater than he did, but whenever he was on the pitch, he was one of the West Midlands’ best entertainers.
Last summer, the difficult decision was made to sell Neto to Chelsea for £54m, seeing the Old Gold lose one of their biggest threats in the final third.
Since leaving, Neto has had mixed reviews at Chelsea, but has got his hands on two lots of silverware, winning the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup.
Pedro Neto set his sights on being the world’s best after joining Wolves
The move was a step in the right direction in the player’s eyes, who left Wolves behind to sign for one of the Premier League’s ‘big six’.
Leaving Wolves was not easy for Neto, but when Chelsea offered a price worth cashing in on, the Old Gold’s mind was made up.
Things could’ve gone better for the winger at Molineux, particularly with the high bar he set himself shortly after moving to England from Lazio.
In a 2019 interview with Sky Sports, Neto insisted that his goal was to become the world’s best, suggesting that Cristiano Ronaldo’s spot at the top at the time was only safe for a moment.
“I want to be the best, like always, I work every day to be the best in the world.
“If I think I can be the best in the world, I’ll work more. At the moment, for me, it’s Ronaldo, but all my days will be working to be the best.”
The now 25-year-old has a long way to go until he can be described as the world’s best, but he’s got plenty of his career remaining to try and fulfil his career goal.
So clear what Neto needs to do to become world-class
Fortunately for Neto, the consensus is clear when it comes to what he must do to become a player of world-class calibre.
Neto’s issue at Chelsea is the same as his issue at Wolves, in that he doesn’t score anywhere near enough goals as he should.
| Season | Appearances | Goals |
| 2019/20 | 29 | 3 |
| 2020/21 | 31 | 5 |
| 2021/22 | 13 | 1 |
| 2022/23 | 18 | 0 |
| 2023/24 | 20 | 2 |
| 2024/25 | 35 | 4 |
| Total | 146 | 15 |
At Molineux, Neto’s best scoring season in the Premier League was the five goals he scored in 2020/21.
His best tally in the league hasn’t improved since joining Chelsea, netting only four times last term.
If the winger can increase his goalscoring output quite significantly, then there’s no limit to where his career could take him, making it a task worth working tirelessly to conquer.