Twenty-four hours earlier, Neymar had ripped off a card-dealing goal celebration to answer his own poker-lifestyle critics, then dragged Santos level in a 2-2 draw with Chapecoense.
By Sunday, he was recording an Instagram Story to swat down claims he had abused two of his own youngsters at halftime.
“I see some rumours going around about me rebuking the younger players in the dressing room. This is not true at all.”
That was Neymar on Sunday, addressing reports from Brazilian outlet Globo that he had turned on midfielder Gabriel Bontempo during the interval of the draw. The reports alleged the 34-year-old called Bontempo an “idiot” and suggested he would soon be playing in Série B. Globo also claimed Neymar questioned defender João Ananias’s technical level after the defender’s own goal put Santos behind in the second half.
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Neymar did not deny that voices were raised. He denied who they were raised at.
“You can ask anyone in the dressing room, it was a rebuke of the team.”
“From now on, I will not accept those lies you post on the internet.”
A team rebuke, not a targeted one
In Neymar’s account, carried by beIN Sports, the halftime exchange came from a group of senior players demanding more from the squad after falling behind at home to a promoted side, not from one man singling out kids.
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Neymar underlined the point on Monday with a photograph of himself and Bontempo, captioned “You little brat” alongside a laughing emoji, which Bontempo then reposted, a public display of amity from the player he was supposedly humiliating a day earlier, as reported by Goal.
A hero night that curdled fast
The whiplash is the story. On Saturday night, Neymar was Santos’s saviour: two goals against Chapecoense and a mocking card-dealing celebration aimed at the columnists who had spent the week questioning his commitment because of leaked poker sessions. By Sunday morning, he was defending his conduct in a dressing room he had just rescued a point in.
He signed off his response with the sharpest line of the weekend.
“The people writing these malicious, fake articles know nothing. You don’t know what football is.”
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What’s coming at Santos
The controversy lands with Santos in a fragile spot under head coach Cuca, who returned to the club earlier this year and is trying to steady a squad whose every mood swing is amplified by Neymar’s presence. Neymar himself, according to OneFootball, has told the Santos board he intends to see out his contract until December before deciding his next step, with retirement or a move to the United States on the table.
The next question is not whether the players return to training on speaking terms. It is whether the veterans-versus-youth split that Globo described actually exists, and whether Cuca can keep this squad on the same page for the rest of the year.
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