When Neymar first burst onto the world stage, he was only 18. So we gave him a pass for his actions, assuming he would grow up and stop flopping and starting fights as he got older.
However it seems that he might never grow up, as, despite playing internationally for six years now, he is still apparently doing things like this:
Neymar pushes Granada's player down the stairs while approaching tunnel. pic.twitter.com/DjQWR8yYms
— Kárim Balushi (@KarimB92) October 31, 2016
After getting into it with Granada’s Ruben Vezo following the Brazilian’s hard tackle on the central defender’s teammate, Neymar allegedly pushes Vezo from behind down the stairs as the two entered the tunnel. This is just one of many incidents Neymar has been in during his surprisingly long career.
At just 24, Neymar has already made a name for himself, and is on track to follow in Messi’s footsteps and become a Barcelona great. There’s just one thing standing in his way, his own immaturity.
For most 24-year-olds, we expect them to act like 24-year-olds, and are a little more lenient because they simply don’t have as much experience as more mature players. However Neymar has been playing professionally since he was 17. He played for one of Brazil’s biggest clubs, Santos, and began playing with the national team at 18. In 2014 following the world cup, he was appointed Brazil's captain at just 22, having been with the team for almost four years and having become the face of the country’s team.
Given his experience, we would expect that Neymar would act like a player in his eighth professional season.
However, the Brazilian continues to show that despite scoring the fourth most goals of all time for his country, he is not fit to lead, as his repeated acts of immaturity reveal. After scoring the late winner against Valencia last week, Neymar and his teammates ran in front of the Valencia supporters to celebrate, and had some choice words for the fans.
Next thing they know, a nearly empty water bottle hit Neymar in the head, and after taking a second to process what had happened, five Barcelona players went down as if the bottle had been a hand grenade:
What it really happend yesterday during the game against Valencia pic.twitter.com/QsbShBN7gS
— Neymar Messi Fans (@Fc_barcelona_Gr) October 23, 2016
The difference between Messi and Neymar’s reactions to the deadly water bottle is very telling, and highlights the ironic nature regarding Neymar’s immaturity. Messi is one of the classiest footballers in the world, and despite also playing since a young age, has always been one of the most mature players on the field. One would expect that Neymar, who idolizes his teammate, would take notice and shape up.
After the game’s high intensity finish, Valencia’s captain Enzo Pérez found Neymar in the locker room in hopes of solving things, only to be greated by even more immaturity. Neymar responded with “Who are you?” despite knowing exactly who he was. Last year when the two teams met, Neymar again disrespected his opponents, telling Barragan to “Shut up” and that he “makes ten times more” than him, despite failing to dribble past him even just once all game.
I am not pretending that Neymar isn’t an incredible player, however if he wants to be truly great, he will have to grow up, as either he will end up hurt in retaliation, or in jail.
