Out of the Brazilian squad’s squad list for friendlies against France and Croatia, without playing regularly for Santos and dedicated to poker. With this history, the Spanish newspaper As describes that Neymar has reached “rock bottom” in his career as a player.
The vehicle highlights that, without being called up by coach Carlo Ancelotti for the Brazilian team’s last two friendlies before the World Cup, and cut from the black and white team for the game against Cruzeiro, which took place on Sunday (22), the star returned to the center of criticism.
The attacker was spared by coach Cuca under the justification of workload control due to high physical risk.
Also according to AS, during the rest period, Neymar dedicated almost 24 hours to participating in a virtual poker championship. The report states that the behavior leaves doubts about the player’s real priorities.
In response to the criticism, Neymar admitted, on Monday afternoon (23), on his Instagram profile, that he had been playing online since the previous day. “It’s what I like to do most after football. I’m playing until now and I’m very happy with my performance,” said the athlete in a video.
Among players, including some called up by Ancelotti, Neymar received support. Many defend his return to the Brazilian team.
Marquinhos, defender and captain of the team, stated that “he is very eager for the opportunity and to come back with everything. We, as teammates, also want him to participate in this World Cup.”
Romário, four-time champion with Brazil, sent a message directly to Ancelotti to defend the Santos player’s call-up. “It’s better to have a star like Neymar, even if he’s not 100%, than to call up someone else,” he said.
