Oh Neymar, please never change.
Neymar is an interesting fella, to say the least. The Paris Saint-Germain forward is a footballer of exceptional talent, but one who divides opinion thanks mainly to his attitude and theatrical playing style.
But surely, one could say when playing devil’s advocate, that the margins of top class are simply so fine that it is required for players to do what they can to increase their chances of winning – dive a little further, shout a little louder, roll a little more.
Surely, one would assume, away from the pressures of the World Cup and the Champions League, Neymar is a more relaxed footballer who is not quite as obsessed with how the world views him as he is when playing professionally.
Well, you’re wrong. Turns out Neymar is as determined to win when playing a random match on Astroturf as he is when playing in front of 90,000 people. The exact same.
How do we know? Well, Neymar was recently recorded taking part in his own five-a-side tournament – Neymar Jr’s Five – in the Brazilian city of Santos on Saturday.
Here's Neymar losing the ball to a kid in his own 5 a side tournament then barging the kid over in retaliation pic.twitter.com/jxaY1G1fr9
— Tom Mortimer (@TomaszMortimer) July 24, 2018
Playing in front of what appears to be hundreds of adoring fans eagerly awaiting him to pull off a trademark trick or shriek, Neymar attempts to make his way past a youngster on the opposition team.
Rather than simply use his athleticism to make it past the child though, Neymar decides to do mess about with the ball. This leads to the kid dispossessing the PSG man and running up the wing.
Now, surely you’re thinking that Neymar – being the good sport that he is – simply let the young man past, allowing him the chance to own the memory of taking the ball off a truly special footballer. The sort of memory that he can tell his friends and family and, when he’s old and grey, can regale his grandchildren with.
No. He ran after him and barged him out of the way, leaving the child on the ground, perplexed. Just because. At this point, a free-kick was awarded and protested a little bit.
It’s unknown exactly what happened next, but we assume he got into a huff, grabbed the ball and took it home.
