By Daily Sports on April 18, 2018

Neymar “spat” on Paris Saint-Germain by not returning to the club in time to lift the Ligue 1 trophy last week, former France star Christophe Dugarry has said.

Since breaking a bone in his foot in February, Neymar has been recovering in his native Brazil, and PSG said at the beginning of April that they expected him back within two or three weeks.

But as PSG clinched the French title on Sunday with a 7-1 victory over Monaco, Neymar was still at home and posted a photo of himself playing poker while watching the decisive victory.

And Dugarry, who won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 with France, took the world's highest-paid player to task for a lack of leadership.

“How come he was not there for the title-winning match? How can he claim to be a leader?” Dugarry said in his role as a pundit on RMC. “Take up an individual sport if you want to navel gaze.

“On top of that, he was playing poker! How can the club accept that? He spat on PSG here.

“How can you shake the hands of your teammates when you behave like that? If I was a PSG supporter, I would be mad with anger.”

Dugarry also said that if Neymar still played for Barcelona, he would have returned in time to lift the trophy in La Liga.

Speaking at a sponsor event in Sao Paulo on Tuesday, Neymar said it was hard not to be with his PSG teammates to celebrate the title.

“It is very bad to see my team score, win a title and I am not able to be there,” he said. “But my health is above this.”

Neymar also said he spends 12 hours a day in physiotherapy and only plays poker while recuperating.

He said he expects to be “available” on May 17, which could allow him to feature in the Coupe de France final against third-tier Les Herbiers, should PSG beat Caen in their semifinal on Wednesday.

The forward also said that while it has been hard to miss a crucial part of the season, the bright side is that he will be well rested when the World Cup begins on June 14.

“I will have enough time to arrive well at the World Cup and be prepared,” Neymar said after arriving using crutches. “It’s terrible to be injured, but I am more tired. We have to look at things from the good side.”

He added: “I’m trying to come back better that I was. There are certain doubts, at times I still feel it [the injury], it was my first surgery. I will come back very well, giving my best.

“From the moment I start training, I will give, I will dedicate myself even more because it’s a dream that’s coming, it’s the World Cup. I’ve waited four years for this opportunity, and now it’s close.” (ESPN)

•Photo shows Neymar

Source Daily Sports

Posted April 18, 2018

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