Neymar’s former teammate reveals unusual bathroom habit

December 1, 2025 Oliver Obel

Before the bathroom tale, it helps to remember the path that placed Neymar at the center of global attention.

The forward rose through Santos’ academy and became a national sensation before moving to Barcelona in 2013. Reports from L’Equipe and other European outlets have often noted how quickly he adapted to life in Spain, forming a devastating attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as the club collected domestic titles and the Champions League.

His world record move in 2017 followed. Paris Saint Germain paid the 222 million euro fee that remains the highest in football history. In France, Neymar helped PSG dominate domestic competitions and contributed 118 goals across all events, although the Champions League continued to elude him.

Later, his 90 million euro switch to Al Hilal in 2023, covered widely by French and international media, brought a short period marked by injuries. By early 2024 the club ended his contract and Neymar chose to return to Santos.

He remains Brazil’s all time top scorer with 79 goals, a milestone that continues to define his international career.

A story from inside the old training ground

It was during his PSG spell that goalkeeper Alexandre Letellier, who joined the team in 2020, encountered something he still remembers clearly.

Speaking to L’Equipe in comments relayed by Footmercato, Letellier described walking into the restroom at the former Camp des Loges facility and finding Neymar using the toilet with the door completely open.

The moment, he said, left him stunned. Another teammate soon explained what was going on.

Not a quirk but a coping habit

According to Letellier, Neymar was not trying to be provocative. He was simply managing claustrophobia. The goalkeeper said the conversation unfolded exactly as he described it in the interview:

“One day, I was dumbfounded. At the time, we were still at the Camp des Loges training ground with PSG.

“One day, I went to the bathroom, I went in and I saw Ney sitting on the toilet… but with the door open.

“When I saw him like that, I thought, ‘He does that, with the door open?’ I came right back out, and Abdou Diallo saw me wondering about it to myself.

“He said, ‘Alex, what’s wrong?’ I told him, ‘Wait, I just went to the bathroom, and Ney’s taking a dump, with the door open.’

“And he said, ‘That’s normal, it’s because he’s claustrophobic.’ He never locks himself in, he always leaves the door open.”

The anecdote shows that even world famous athletes carry private fears that few fans ever hear about. Sometimes the most memorable moments from a superstar’s career originate not from the pitch but from the spaces teammates share away from public view.

Sources: L’Equipe, Footmercato