On opening day, Neymar no show but PSG earn €1m
Brazilian superstar Neymar received a hero’s welcome from Paris Saint-Germain fans at their Parc des Princes home on Saturday as he vowed to win “lots of trophies” following his world record transfer.
The 25-year-old was presented to fans on the pitch ahead of their opening Ligue 1 match of the season at home to Amiens, telling fans: “Thank you! I’m very happy, I’m delighted to be here for this new challenge.”
Fans unfurled a huge red banner emblazoned with Neymar’s name and number 10 before he was brought out onto the pitch.
As he made his way out from the players’ tunnel and onto the turf, they chanted his name over and again: “Neymar, Neymar... Neymar, Neymar!”
“I want to win lots of trophies with you and I need your support to win these trophies,” added the former Barcelona and Santos star.
“Paris is magic!” he said in French before calling out the club’s motto: “Ici, c’est Paris!” -Here, it’s Paris. The club replicated his linguistic efforts with a message beamed around its digital advertising hoardings in Portuguese: “Bem-vindo Neymar Jr” -- Welcome Neymar Jr.
The Brazilian, who cost a staggering 222 million euros ($264m), then delighted fans by running over to the end where PSG’s most hardcore supporters converge and launched his jersey into the throng of delirious ‘Ultras’.
It was the only action they would see from Neymar, though, as his international transfer certificate wasn’t lodged in time with the French league to allow him to make his debut against Amiens. But the club had already started to recoup a part of their massive outlay on Neymar on Friday as he was unveiled to the press.
More than 10,000 shorts were sold in a single day, bringing in around 1 million euros.
“We have a great star, a great player here with us today,” said club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi as Neymar was introduced to the Parc des Princes.
When Chelsea faces Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday, the winner may be which team can best put a turbulent offseason behind them. The traditional season curtain raiser at Wembley Stadium features league champion Chelsea against FA Cup winner Arsenal. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been trying to keep hold of Alexis Sanchez as the Gunners attempt to return to the Champions League.