Right on time and just as I anticipated, the photo of Neymar Jr. with former FC Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez in Uruguay has resulted in a ridiculous rumor with more likely to come.
🆕 How many transfer articles do you think the Spanish press can get out of this one photo?
🔵🔴 #PSG #TeamPSG #AllezParis #ICICESTPARIS https://t.co/9cb1N6lPqG
— PSG Talk 💬 (@PSGTalk) December 28, 2019
Sport, the Barcelona-based newspaper, reported on Sunday that Neymar’s Instagram’s Story, which featured the image in question, was a calculated move and not an innocent post of him having a good time with friends.
¡SE VOLVIERON A JUNTAR! 🇦🇷🇺🇾🇧🇷
Messi, Suárez y Neymar se reencontraron en la ceremonia de renovación de votos entre el uruguayo y su esposa, Sofía. pic.twitter.com/QzLYv0hJgC— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) December 27, 2019
The article’s author, Joaquim Piera, makes the case that Neymar posted the photo to show PSG’s president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, that he can take photos with Messi and Suárez off the pitch and essentially remind the Qataris that he was part of the biggest humiliation in PSG history (the 6-1 defeat at the Camp Nou in 2017).
The piece all but insinuates that while Neymar is pictured with Barcelona players in a suit and tie today, come this summer, Barcelona will finally make the transfer official and bring the 27-year-old back to La Liga after they failed last summer.
First of all, my standards were low for Sport but I’ve just lowered them even further. There isn’t a single quote in this story. Not a single one. We’re supposed to just believe a guy with a banana as his Twitter profile photo.
Second of all, Neymar is photographed with a lot of people. Here he is with Batman. Should I write an article about how Neymar is going to quit football and fight crime as a masked superhero?
Here’s a free tip, Sport. Sometimes, a photo is just a photo. Unless you have a quote from someone, video, or audio, there is no way to prove what you’re saying. It’s more likely that Neymar was invited to a party hosted by a friend of his over the holiday break and he decided to attend. Like most 27-year-olds, he documented it on Instagram. You’re reading too much into this.
My biggest issue with this story is how it spreads. Here I am having to address it. Express in England has an article about it and I’m sure many more. This is a complete fabrication but because it has Neymar in the headline and it’s about something that makes him look bad, media outlets overlook whether it’s true or not and just hit the publish button. It’s unfair to Neymar and it’s unfair to football fans.
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