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Paris
Neymar showed up for training at Paris Saint-Germain on Monday, according to French media reports, a week late and days after controversially claiming his best football memory was beating PSG with Barcelona.
A video posted on the website of leading sports daily L’Equipe showed the 27-year-old Brazilian – his hair dyed peroxide blonde – getting out of a black Mercedes van at the club’s training ground in the suburbs of the French capital.
PSG officially began pre-season training last Monday but Neymar, linked with a move back to Barcelona, was not there, with the player’s camp maintaining he had a prior agreement to stay away.
The French champions responded last week by threatening to take “appropriate action” against the world’s most expensive player, who said he had stayed in Brazil to attend a charity five-a-side football tournament run by his foundation, the Neymar Institute.
Neymar’s father, who is also the player’s representative, later defended his son in an Instagram post, saying: “At no point did my son show a lack of respect to PSG or the players who played in that game in 2017.”
“My son plays for PSG, but he can’t simply ignore his past. A past that led to him arriving at the French club,” he added.
It has been a troubled summer for the player, who missed Brazil’s triumphant Copa America campaign on home soil after suffering an ankle injury in a warm-up friendly against Qatar in early June.
In addition, he was questioned by Brazilian police last month over allegations he raped a woman he met through social media in a Paris hotel. He has denied the accusations.
Meanwhile, PSG’s new sporting director Leonardo – last week opened the door to the player leaving the club “if there is an offer that suits everyone”.
While Neymar has just returned to Paris, his teammates are due to play their first pre-season friendly on Tuesday away to German side Dynamo Dresden.
Paris
Neymar showed up for training at Paris Saint-Germain on Monday, according to French media reports, a week late and days after controversially claiming his best football memory was beating PSG with Barcelona.
A video posted on the website of leading sports daily L’Equipe showed the 27-year-old Brazilian – his hair dyed peroxide blonde – getting out of a black Mercedes van at the club’s training ground in the suburbs of the French capital.
PSG officially began pre-season training last Monday but Neymar, linked with a move back to Barcelona, was not there, with the player’s camp maintaining he had a prior agreement to stay away.
The French champions responded last week by threatening to take “appropriate action” against the world’s most expensive player, who said he had stayed in Brazil to attend a charity five-a-side football tournament run by his foundation, the Neymar Institute.
Neymar’s father, who is also the player’s representative, later defended his son in an Instagram post, saying: “At no point did my son show a lack of respect to PSG or the players who played in that game in 2017.”
“My son plays for PSG, but he can’t simply ignore his past. A past that led to him arriving at the French club,” he added.
It has been a troubled summer for the player, who missed Brazil’s triumphant Copa America campaign on home soil after suffering an ankle injury in a warm-up friendly against Qatar in early June.
In addition, he was questioned by Brazilian police last month over allegations he raped a woman he met through social media in a Paris hotel. He has denied the accusations.
Meanwhile, PSG’s new sporting director Leonardo – last week opened the door to the player leaving the club “if there is an offer that suits everyone”.
While Neymar has just returned to Paris, his teammates are due to play their first pre-season friendly on Tuesday away to German side Dynamo Dresden.
