Third straight birthday injury fuels Neymar conspiracy theories
The conspiracy theorists are out in force after Neymar was - for a third straight year - ruled out of the game proceeding his birthday party.
A rib injury has forced the Paris St Germain forward to miss Tuesday's Ligue 1 match away to Nantes, just 48 hours after celebrating his 28th birthday at a nightclub in Paris.
The Brazil star played the full 90 minutes on Saturday when Thomas Tuchel's side thrashed Montpellier 5-0, but did need treatment during the first half.
Bizarrely though, his latest setback continues a curious trend that’s seen Neymar miss the first game after his birthday for consecutive seasons.
Plenty of football fans have called out the Brazilian over the curious spate of injuries that seem to crop up around the time of big occasions in his personal life.
2018: Neymar is injured on his birthday
2019: Neymar is injured on his birthday
2020: Neymar is injured on his birthday
🙃 pic.twitter.com/DggeXdATcw— Goal (@goal) February 3, 2020
Cavani, Verratti and Memphis turned up for Neymar’s all-white birthday party in Paris ⚪ pic.twitter.com/cRQWSwMdZT
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 3, 2020
Neymar is injured on his brithday again lol, who does this dude think he is fooling 😂
— K_O 🦅 (@blaise_ko) February 3, 2020
So, Neymar gets injured on his birthday since he joined PSG. Is it becoming a tradition or something?🤔
— Cha-ching! (@Hoox011) February 3, 2020
Why is Neymar always getting injured on his birthday? He's injured himself again
— Akamadi Jeremiah Aleakhue (@SLIMZADDYJ) February 3, 2020
Quick reminder that Neymar has been ‘injured’:
- On his birthday in 2018
- On his birthday in 2019
- On his birthday in 2020
🤥 #PSG #Neymar https://t.co/pE2jn07tsV— FOLLOWBACK FT ⚽️🤝 (@Footy_Trending) February 3, 2020
Neymar injured. Look at the date. Ah, such a lovely tradition. https://t.co/0ZTleFhPRr
— André Noruega (@AndreOstgaard) February 3, 2020
February. Oh look at thst. Neymar injured. No surprises here hahahahah. Right on time lol
— Gong Zilla (@igongzilla5) February 4, 2020
PSG ‘giving people the chance to speak badly’ of them
PSG coach Tuchel admitted Neymar's lavish birthday celebration posed a distraction for his side, coming just days before their next clash.
Neymar will now miss the midweek encounter and his coach admitted the preparation for the fixture was not ideal with several PSG players out with the Brazilian on Sunday night at a venue close to the Eiffel Tower.
"Is it the best way to prepare for a match? No, clearly not," Tuchel told a press conference.
"Is it the worst thing in the world? No.
"I always protect my players, and I really love my team. With this party, I accept that it is a bit difficult to protect the players, but the context is not simply black or white.
"It is a shame, because we are giving people the chance to speak badly of us. We need to adapt to the situation, but I am not going to leave a player on the bench or at home because they went out and celebrated."
With Neymar out of the match, the onus will be on Kylian Mbappe, who was involved in a heated discussion with Tuchel at the weekend.
The Frenchman was replaced in the second half by Mauro Icardi and showed his frustration with the PSG boss on the touchline.
"There is nothing personal between him and me. These things happen," Tuchel added.
"It was between a player who does not want to come off and a coach who had his reasons for doing something and who wanted to give a game to players who deserved it."
With agencies