Neymar injury sparks rumours
Will the fiery striker use his recent foot injury to get out of his expensive contract at PSG and move back to Spain?
‘I’m a guy who likes to win, I like titles and I went to PSG for this’
SCRAPS with players, squabbles with the coach, a blazing ego and a club so desperate to keep him they staged a three-day birthday party when he turned 26 last month. Football supremo Neymar’s time at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has been nothing if not eventful from the moment he arrived following a recordbreaking €222 million (R3,3 billion) transfer.
For the young star, the move from Spanish powerhouse Barcelona to the French club was his route to glory. He’d spent his days at Barça trying to break out of the long shadow cast by legendary Lionel Messi (30) and he was tired of being the Argentinian legend’s sidekick.
Much was expected of the fleet-footed forward in his first season with PSG – but now his team will have to do with- out their priciest player for a while. The Brazilian is set to spend the next two to three months recovering after going under the knife to repair a fractured foot following a recent Le Classique match against Marseille. PSG were cruising to a 3-0 win when their star went down in the 82nd minute after tussling with Marseille’s Bouna Sarr (26) for the ball. Neymar wept as he clutched at his foot before being rushed off the Parc des Princes pitch and taken to hospital. Several days later, he was whisked home to Brazil for surgery. He later shared a positive message with his 90 million followers on Instagram. “Obstacles shouldn’t impede you,” he wrote. “If you come up against a wall don’t give up. Find a way to climb it.” Yet it seems Neymar might not be practising what he preaches. Even before his injury, the rumour mill was in overdrive over whispers that he might be looking for a way out of his contract.
AS FAR as balls in the back of the net go, Neymar proved his worth in Paris, scoring 28 goals this season and assisting in 16.
But it’s his attitude rather than his performance that seems to be ruffling feathers. He’s been at the club for just five months but Neymar has reportedly already fallen out with teammate Edinson Cavani as well as manager Unai Emery. There have been plenty of whispers of set-tos with Emery, most recently when Neymar threw a training-ground tantrum after Emery had cut practice short to rest certain players. Neymar has also taken issue with Emery’s pre-match preparation, and his reliance on videos
to assess his players, football site Goal. com reports.
There’s no love lost between Neymar and PSG heavyweight Cavani (31) either. In a match against Lyon, the Uruguayan striker was setting up the ball for a penalty shot when Neymar stepped in front of him. A brief debate ensued, during which, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais, Cavani said, “And who is this? Do you think you’re Messi?”
After the bizarre exchange, rumours of a rift behind closed doors emerged, and there is even talk that Neymar and Cavani had to be pulled apart by teammates in a changing-room tussle.
Not long after, during the team’s win over French club Dijon, Neymar took a penalty off Cavani – who, at the time, was one goal away from being the club’s all-time top scorer – and was greeted by boos and jeers by fans as a result.
In a news conference last November a visibly emotional Neymar tried to shoot down speculation that he was unhappy, saying he was “fine, happy, motivated, satisfied and giving everything on the pitch”.
“I have no problem with Cavani, I have no problem with the coach . . . I have no problem with PSG, what bothers me is the pressure of the press. I’m a guy who likes to win, I like titles and I went to PSG for this. I’m happy,” he said.
But his tearful insistence did little to quash hearsay that he’s considering a transfer to Real Madrid.
Some reports have even suggested informal talks have already taken place between Neymar’s reps and Real Madrid.
Signing Neymar is said to be an obsession for Real Madrid club president Florentino Pérez.
“Being at Madrid would make it easier for Neymar to win the Ballon d’Or,” Pérez told Spanish radio sports show El Larguero late last year. “Madrid is a club that gives big players what they need.”
It’s said the deal could cost the Spanish giants at least €400 million (R5,8 billion) overall – and there are rumours that Real superstar Cristiano Ronaldo (33) might even be thrown in as a trade to sweeten the deal.
Neymar’s possible move has the backing of La Liga president Javier Tebas, who’s said to be keen to see Neymar back in Spain. “I’d like Neymar to return to Spanish football, yes.”
Even Ronaldo (41), Neymar’s fellow countryman, reckons the young forward should play for Real Madrid. “Neymar is a superb player, maybe he’ll be the best in the world in a few years and Real Madrid need the best.”
HAVING spent a shocking sum on Neymar last year, PSG is – unsurprisingly – desperate to keep him.
But, as Sports Illustrated columnist Jonathan Wilson points out, maybe a stint without their star – even if only while he’s out with his foot injury – might actually be just what the club needs.
“His performance in the away leg against Real Madrid was one of astonishing egotism, full of flicks and tricks and dribbles down cul-de-sacs, as though he were determined that he and he alone would win the game for PSG,” Wilson writes.
“It wasn’t hard to work out who PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot (22) was talking about when he said after that game, ‘It’s all well and good putting eight goals past Dijon, but it’s in matches like this that you have to stand up and be counted’.”
ESPN Brazil journalist Natalie Gedra, who’s followed Neymar since his Santos days, reckons it’s simply the pressure that’s starting to get to him.
“At the age of 14 he was already a star, everybody was watching him,” Gedra said on Sky Sports.
“When he made his debut as a professional there were always these high expectations. He always managed to pull it off. “He always dealt really well with the pressure. He’s been dealing with pressure for more than 10 years – but I think now maybe it’s getting to that limit.
“You’re the most expensive player in the history of football, you have this responsibility of taking PSG to winning the Champions League, but at the same time you have to be humble and nice to everybody.
“So I think he’s having a hard time reconciling everything. He’s young and it’s hard.”
Still, his €36,8 million (about R533 million) a year salary must help to sweeten the deal when the going gets tough.