Ronaldo urges referees to protect players like Santos' Neymar

The retired striker believes that the game's brightest stars should be protected by the referees, while the Santos star confessed he does not mind being hacked down.Brazil legend Ronaldo has indicated that referees should protect players like Santos forward Neymar to a greater extent.The 19-year-old sensation, who is being courted by both Real Madrid and Barcelona, possesses technique and flair that often pushes opponents over the edge, with the gifted attacker suffering an average 6.47 fouls per match in the Brazilian league; the highest in the competition.Ronaldo received his fair share of harsh challenges during his playing days, and he has now come out in defence of the new stars."I also suffered a lot while playing football, but I believe that referees in Brazil should more protect these talents more, applying the game's rules," he is quoted by Globoesporte as saying."They suffer a lot of fouls and many of them are worthy of a card and sending off."Neymar played down the offences he is constantly a target of, saying: "I like to face defenders."When they bring me down, I get back up. Sometimes, I get a bit angry, but I count to 10 and I keep going."