‘The club was afraid and it is I who suffer from it’: Neymar fumed.
Paris Saint-German megastar hurled criticism at his PSG chiefs for not having played him in recent weeks when he was fit but subsequently throwing him into the deep end in the fixture against Borussia Dortmund when he wasn’t feeling up to it physically. .
The Brazilian returned to action in the Champions League last-16 first leg tie on Tuesday night and scored the team’s lone goal in the PSG 2-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna.
Afterward the disappointing match, he vented his frustration of having been kept on the sidelines in recent weeks when he was match-fit with the 28-year-old having missed PSG’s last three league games supposedly due to injury but he revealed that he had actually been fine and game-ready.
He said post-game, “It was difficult to stay four games without playing but unfortunately it was not my choice,”.
“It’s a choice of the club, of the doctors. They made that decision and I didn’t like it. We had a lot of discussions around that because I wanted to play.”
“I felt good but the club was scared. In the end, I suffer. I understand the fear that the club will suffer, because in two years I have been out of the round of 16.”
“The club was afraid and it is I who suffer from it.”
Neymar, whose 2019-20 campaign was in large part hampered by injuries, has so far scored 16 goals and provided 10 assists in 19 appearances.
He missed three Ligue 1 games and the Coupe de France quarter final, and has barely trained since picking up the injury against Montpellier on February 1. PSG are next in action on Sunday night when they welcome Bordeaux in the league.
PSG were reeling from the after effects of two stunning goals by BVB’s wunderkind Erling Braut Halaand at the Signal Iduna Park. The sensational, fearless 19-year old teenager netted twice in the space of ten minutes to usher Dortmund back to Paris with the advantage in the first leg of the tie.
However, Neymar countered with a crucial goal in between the Norwegian’s brace when he slipped through the Dortmund defence unmarked and tapped in from a nifty Kylian Mbappe cross.
This was the meercurial forward’s first game since the start of February, however, due to the earlier rib injury he had sustained.
“I respect the decisions, but it can’t be like that, because the player ends up suffering. It was very difficult to be able to play a game like this, intense, 90 minutes without stopping. It’s different.”
“If I was in better shape, I would certainly have played a better game.”
“We have 90 minutes to play a big part. I’m sure at home we’ll give 100% and I hope we qualify.”