To say that Damien Duff hasn’t been a fan of Neymar’s antics at Paris Saint-Germain would be the understatement of the year.
Damien Duff has been watching Neymar in Ligue 1 and he hasn’t liked what he has been seeing. The former Republic of Ireland international spoke his mind about the Brazil superstar during Irish channel RTE’s World Cup coverage on Tuesday night.
In the aftermath of Russia’s 3-1 win against Egypt, the topic turned to Neymar. He made the headlines when he was pictured limping off just 15 minutes into training ahead of the Costa Rica match. At the mere mention of his name, Duffer went off on one.
“I don’t think he helped their first performance. I haven’t liked him this year. He’s gone to Paris Saint-Germain. I don’t like the way he plays there. He’s selfish. He plays for himself. I know French public haven’t enjoyed watching him.”
“Too much showboating for me. You look at Ronaldo, Messi – they’re the best, they look to kill all the time. Whereas this lad, the other night against Switzerland there were numerous times when he was looking to attract three or four players over just to build his skills compilation on YouTube. He’s so much better than that. He’s utterly world class and I wish he played for the team more than himself.”
Taking the Mickey
There were rumblings that Neymar left Barcelona in order to escape Lionel Messi’s shadow and win a Ballon d’Or. If this was actually his reasoning, Duffer believes it was a fools’ move.
“He’s gone chasing the Ballon d’Or and that’s why he left Barcelona out of Messi’s shadow, but you won’t win the Ballon d’Or going to the French league. That’s a fact. Like I said, he’s just been trying to take the Mickey all year in that league.”
As for that footage of him hobbling off in training, Duffer is sceptical.
“Call me a cynic but he will be fit for Costa Rica on Wednesday. He likes the show being all about him. He’s pictured going off the training pitch today. He’s grand. He is grand.”
"He's selfish. He plays for himself. Call me a cynic but he will be fit for Costa Rica. He's grand…" – Damien Duff on Neymar's injury pic.twitter.com/NT68tcToIs
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 19, 2018
