According to the businessman, the injury to the meniscus of his left knee, at the end of November last year, shook the player.
His father revealed that the striker even considered interrupting his career after suffering an injury to the meniscus in his left knee at the end of November last year. According to him, the episode shook the player, especially due to the emotional impact caused by the early disclosure of the diagnosis. The report was made during a dinner promoted by businessman Rafael Figueiredo. The video of the conversation was released on the Rafa Tecla T channel, on YouTube.
According to Neymar Sr., the leak of information about the injury occurred even before the athlete was fully aware of the problem, which worsened the emotional situation. He highlighted the difficulty in containing his son on the field and explained the decision to temporarily remove him from activities.
“We were measuring Neymar all the time, every time we tried to take him out. But he’s a guy who doesn’t spare himself on the field. You can’t make him save himself. Soon he’s back there, asking for the ball all the time, he’s an extremely competitive guy. How do you control that? Leaving him off the field is the only way.”
According to the player’s father, the situation worsened when the injury was publicly disclosed, which directly affected the attacker’s psychological state.
“Placing him when we really have the peace of mind to stay. Right now. He had a meniscus injury. The press leaks this before we talk to him, and his mind goes to zero. For a second I can’t save my son’s head. This comes to a head, the guys saying Neymar won’t play anymore this year. His head will go.”
Neymar Pai said that, when talking to his son after the episode, he heard the attacker make an outburst that indicated the possibility of stopping playing.
“When I get home, I go to my son’s house and say: ‘Son, what’s up, how are you?’ He turns to me and says, ‘I can’t take it anymore, man. Let’s operate. Dad… I don’t even know if it’s worth the operation. For me, it’s done.’ The moment he says that to me, I turn around and say to him: ‘Is it done, man? So why operate? Ah, let’s do that, we’ll stop and next year we’ll think about what we’re going to do’. So, I said: ‘Son, if you want to operate so we can focus on your recovery and you get well, I’m with you’.”
According to the report, the conversation continued with an appeal for the player not to be influenced by external criticism.
“I said. ‘Dude, what do you want to do?’ I started talking to him, talking to him about some things: ‘Do you know what it is? There’s a narrative there. There are some guys there who are very noisy, very few people, but they are noisy as hell, and who want to make you give up. If we give up… There’s not much left, man. It’s six months. After June, July, I don’t know if we’re going to win or not. Dude, I’ll leave with you. Then I think we accomplished our mission, whether we are champion or not, but at least you will have to be there. You can’t accept what these noisemakers are doing. You can’t hear what’s outside.’”
After the conversation, Neymar decided to wait for the next day to assess how he would feel physically and returned to training with the Santos squad.
“Then he listens to me, we talk a lot, and he says: ‘Let me see how I’m going to wake up tomorrow’. The next morning he sends me a message: ‘I’m going to train. I’ll see if I can handle it’. He goes there, he did all the business. He said he was in a little pain, but he managed to train. Then he started training, kicking left, right. I said: ‘Man, are you crazy? Try running alone. You running on the field, moving. That’s it. good’. Then he looked and shook his head.
The definitive answer came in the game against Sport, in the 36th round of the Brazilian Championship. Neymar scored the first goal in the 3-0 victory at Vila Belmiro, which, according to his father, changed the situation.
“He goes to the game, we hope that the strap (of the torn meniscus) doesn’t move in place. He goes and scores the goal. When the goal is scored, he looks at me. We look at each other and tell you, man, it was incredible. He said: ‘Now, I’m going to the end in these three games’. I said: ‘Sleep in a way that doesn’t move the knee (laughs).’ There’s nothing.”
On New Year’s Eve, Neymar agreed to renew his contract with Santos for another season, until the end of December. The attacker underwent surgery on the meniscus of his left knee on the 22nd and continues in the recovery process, carrying out physiotherapy work at his home, in Mangaratiba, Rio de Janeiro.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
