For the fourth time in a row, Neymar suffered an injury in February, the same as the 10 he has had since joining the PSG in 2017.
A few hours after learning that Neymar will be a month away from the pitch due to his tenth injury since arriving in Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, the club has begun to air his dissatisfaction with the way of life of the Brazilian star for which he paid 222 million euros.
The last injury, to the left adductor, occurred last Wednesday in a cup match against Caen, second division, just three days after losing the “classic” of French football against Olympique of Marseilles for gastroenteritis after celebrating his 29th birthday.
The player left the pitch last Wednesday after receiving a hard tackle, but the injury is muscular and does not seem to have a direct relationship with the blow received, according to specialists quoted by French media.
The sports newspaper “The team“It is revealed today that several club members estimate that the repeated injuries of the player, who has lost 64 games out of the almost 170 he could have played in three and a half seasons, are dissatisfied with the off-field behavior of the player. ‘football player.
Lack of sleep, inadequate nutrition and poor hydration, they consider, are not in line with what a high-level athlete needs, at the same time comparing his life train with that of other stars, such as the Argentine Lionel Messi and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo.
Injuries are common at this time of season and, in particular, those of adductor muscles. It is the second time he has suffered in a few months, after losing four games last October for the same problem.
His birthday celebrations have already become an event and the footballer himself confessed a few days ago that the party is part of his life.
“Who doesn’t like the party? (…) If I focus one hundred percent on football I’ll end up exploding. The party is an opportunity to relax, to enjoy. It’s something I never I will resign, “he assured TF1 television in late January.
For physiologist Jean-Bernard Fabre, the relationship between the player’s lifestyle and his repeated injuries is obvious. “When it happens to you once, you may think it’s bad luck, but it happens to you every year,” he told Le Parisien.
The specialist believes that the gastroenteritis of the weekend may have to do with his birthday celebration: “He may have been drinking some alcohol and the lack of sleep may have affected his muscle motor and tendons. As a result, it is in a position to favor this kind of thing. “
Fabre also believes that over time the fragility will increase: “The period in which it is ‘indestructible’ has already passed. With age you pay for all the gaps in preparation and recovery. A day arrives in what your way of life ends up taking its toll on you “.
The new injury, and the doubts it has generated at the club, arise when negotiations for the extension of his contract, which ends in June 2022, seemed well on track.
The debate over his way of life overlaps with what the footballer himself opened this Thursday, just to know the extent of his injury, when he considered himself a victim of the harshness of French football.
“Sometimes I feel uncomfortable with my style of play, because I haggle and end up being hit constantly. I don’t know if the problem is me or what I do on the field,” he assured Instagram.
Right after the game in which he ended up injured, Caen coach Pascal Dupraz accused him of provoking rivals and simulating a lot on the pitch: “I’m not going to cry, I leave that to Neymar “.
The Brazilian star’s father replied harshly: “Of course he has to cry, because there are coaches like you, referees of this level, negligent and silent leagues.”
In the midst of all this noise, PSG will play on Tuesday against the Camp Nou without their most decisive player in recent months, which already seems a habit.
Since arriving in Paris, he has only played three Champions League round of 16 matches out of six possible. Last season against Borussia Dortmund, it was the only time he played both and also the only one in which PSG overcame this round, thanks in large part to the Brazilian.
Against Barcelona, the first leg will be lost for sure and there will be serious doubts about the return leg, scheduled for March 10. Neymar will be at rest for two weeks, before starting training in the third and, if all goes well, returning with the group in the fourth.
At best, he could return for the return leg against Barça, but without a competitive pace, forcing the PSG to face the playoffs without having much of its star, as it did in 2018 against Real Madrid and 2019 against Manchester United.
On those two occasions, the fault lay with the fifth metatarsal, a fortuitous injury unrelated to his way of life. But now, in Paris, doubts are beginning to emerge.