H

E’S one of the greatest

soccer players to set foot

on a pitch, a goal-scoring

wizard and a fleet-footed

maker of magic. But say

the name Neymar these

days and people are more

likely to roll their eyes

rather than clap their hands.

Players and football fans alike have be-

come disillusioned with the superstar’s

diva tactics and staggering arrogance.

And right now the Brazilian’s future is

looking rather uncertain.

A scant two years ago Neymar (27) was

bought by Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)

from Barcelona for a record-breaking

£198 million (then R3,45 billion). These

days it seems he’s trying to wiggle his

way out of PSG and back to Barça – and

make fans hate him at the same time. 

First he failed to pitch up at Les Paris-

iens for the start of preseason training

last month as he was still in Brazil.

Thenhereallygotfansriledup when

NO MAN,

NEYMAR!

ited gameplay, a bad attitude and taking

at his own club – PSG won’t be sorry to

eymar go, but what’s next for the player?

COMPILED BY DENNIS CAVERNELIS

he went out of his way to troll PSG

supporters.

Asked in an interview with online soc-

cer site Oh My Goal what his favourite

locker-room memory was, he showed

his team’s fans the proverbial middle

finger and seemed to make it clear he’s

longing to go back to Camp Nou.

“Well, when we won [6-1] against PSG

with Barcelona [in 2017] we all went cra-

zy afterwards,” he said. “I believe it was

the best possible feeling for all of us.

What we felt when we scored that sixth

goal – I’ve never felt something like this.

It was incredible.”

French media were having none of it.

“He no longer hides,” Le Parisien news-

paper wrote. “Quite the opposite; his de-

sire to leave is evident. There’s no doubt

this game was absolutely memorable for

Barça, but now he’s publicly trolling PSG

and irritating his own fans.”

France Football magazine said it had a

hard time believing his remarks were

just a joke. “It was a calculated response,

it’s impossible to think otherwise. It’s a

new declaration of war with PSG, as he

seems determined to leave more than

ever.”

Neymar was being deliberately provoc-

ative, Le Figaro newspaper fumed. “He

should know how to control his state-

ments in these situations, but Neymar

chose not to hide. It would be better to

say that he opted for a provocation.”

 A

S A teenager Neymar da Silva

Santos Júnior was celebrated

as the next Lionel Messi or

Brazilian Ronaldo.

By the age of 25 the wildly

talented striker had already

scored 52 goals for the national team.

With a current tally of 60, he’s now the

third-highest goal scorer for Brazil be-

hind the retired Ronaldo (with 62) and

the legendary Pelé (with 77).

So it was no surprise that PSG forked

out big bucks to grab Neymar from Bar-

celona in 2017.

“Neymar go

away,” reads

the banner,

amid specula-

tion he may be

leaving the

French club

soon.

Limi

digs

see Ne

88 | 29 AUGUST 2019 you.co.za^