“I argue with my friends every day”: Neymar plays down tensions with Campos
When PSG lost to Monaco on Saturday, there was a heated exchange between Neymar and sporting director Luis Campos, but Neymar says it was no big deal.
After losing three league games in a row with the latest a 3-1 defeat to Monaco on Saturday, the Paris Saint Germain team is feeling some tension. That tension came to a boil when players Neymar and Marquinhos got into an argument with sporting director Luis Campos.
What was the argument between Campos and PSG players?
There were reports that Campos was accusing some of the players of not being aggressive enough, which caused Neymar and Marquinhos to go on the defense. The French media were saying that there were heated discussions in Portuguese.
PSG will face Bayern Munich later on Tuesday. PSG is currently sitting at 9th in the Opta Power Rankings, with Bayern ranked 1st. Ahead of the match at the press conference, Neymar downplayed the discussion with Campos, saying that the media blew it out of proportion. He admitted that there were discussions but said that they were productive and would not have a negative affect on the team.
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“This is not a fight where everything is going to fall apart,” said Neymar. “I argue with my friends every day, and yet I love them all and I stay with them every day. I argue with my girlfriend every day and yet we are still together. So, I think it’s just part of the discussion in soccer. Soccer is not just love, it’s not just affection, it’s not just friendship.”
“Obviously, there is respect on both sides. It’s just that there are things that you end up not agreeing on at that moment, so there is a discussion to improve, to improve our team, to improve our environment, to improve our game. Because like it or not, we have lost a lot. The atmosphere is one of irritation because we are not used to losing. PSG is used to always winning, always winning. So when we lose, it bothers us.”
“So the discussion is part of it and I think it’s valid so that this can help improve our team and I think this helped a lot because it started to clear our minds to see what we are thinking and talk about what is best.”