Brazil and Neymar's struggles to adapt to PSG
It's been three months since the Ligue 1 outfit paid a record 222 million euros to Barcelona for the striker and he doesn't appear to have adapted yet.
Neymar is happy in France. Or at least he is during the international break, when he's with the Brazil team, who are playing a friendly against Japan before heading to London to face England, also in a friendly.
Neymar struggling to adapt to life in France
Afterwards Neymar will go back to the day to day routine in Paris. And it appears he's not that enthusiastic about the prospect, as he's still struggling to adapt to his new life in the French capital, for various reasons.
The most obvious, according to the French press, is his lack of understanding with PSG coach Unai Emery. This Wednesday, L'Equipe said their relationship had broken down, with little hope of recovery and that Neymar's gestures towards the Spaniard showed the lack of warmth between the two.
But the problem with Emery isn't the only reason Neymar isn't comfortable in Paris. The easiest thing would be to blame the language, which is a hurdle he has to overcome, but the Brazilian superstar also lacks some of the advantages he had at Barcelona. At the Camp Nou he was protected from the very start by a powerful group in the dressing room, made up of Messi, Suárez, Piqué, Iniesta... At PSG he's yet to become part of an equivalently powerful clique, with the club in full metamorphis as it seeks to land the Champions League title. And to all this can be added his problems with Cavani, which started as soon as he arrived.
Neymar does have his 'brother' Alves and the other Brazilians (Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Lucas Moura) to help him, but at the same time the other players are envious of Neymar's privileges which haven't been extended to others. There are certain club rules too that don't apply to the Brazilian: he can use his own suitcase and has two physiotherapists just for him.
Neymar and Brazil
Faced with the situation, Neymar's Brazilian teammates are doing everything possible to help him adapt to Paris. Even to the extent of firing indirect, but hardly subtle, messages at coach Emery, as Marquinhos did. The defender spoke at a Brazil press conference and pointedly referred to the excellent manner in which he considers Tite (Adenor Leonardo Bacchi) runs the dressing room. "It's not enough to be a good coach, you also have to be a good manager to work with top level people. Tite does this excellently. He's a great man, a fine father, an amazing coach and has the virtues of the best. He's loyal to his player and makes you feel important in the dressing room and in front of the cameras", he said. Take note Emery, he might have added.
Marquinhos also went on to talk about Neymar himself: "Neymar's in a good place, he's important for Brazil and we're trying to help him adapt to Paris. I think he's adapting to the city, the club and I think he's keen to win titles."
No doubt this spiritual retreat with his countrymen will do Neymar a world of good. He dropped out of the last PSG Ligue 1 game, against Angers, citing a muscle strain, and many thought he might miss Brazil's friendlies. But his mood changed as soon as he saw his fellow Brazilians and he's now expected to start the match in Lille against Japan.
