Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar was omitted from Brazil’s final squad list for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Even though Neymar is currently competing with the Brazilian national team in its quest to win a second consecutive Copa America, the PSG star did have an aim at also playing in a second international tournament this summer.
PSG reportedly did not want Neymar to compete in the Tokyo Olympics, as club officials preferred that the forward instead take part in the team’s preseason schedule following Brazil’s Copa America run.
Brazil team coordinator Branco also shared this same sentiment. In speaking following the official announcement of Brazil’s Tokyo Olympics squad list, Branco singled out (via UOL) Neymar featuring in the Copa America as the reason why he will not take part in the Summer Games.
“Neymar is a world reference,” Branco said. “For us, he is a great leader of the main national team and we would like to count on him. Logically, it would be much more difficult for us to think of an athlete who would compete in two competitions.
“We would have liked to count on him, but it didn’t work out.”
For now, Neymar remains set on aiming to win the Copa America tournament for the first time in his career.
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