Once again Paris Saint-Germain have crashed out of the UEFA Champions League, and once again they did so in epic fashion. Injured PSG winger Neymar, the world’s most expensive player, did not take it well.
Some, including his manager Thomas Tuchel, would say that’s a good sign as it’s indicative of his fiery competitiveness. Betfair gave PSG a 1/200 chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Google projected Manchester United to have just a 15% chance of winning.
https://twitter.com/JustChaoticEvil/status/1103429816144023553
(Side note: don’t run afoul of your nation’s tax laws like Neymar has in the past! Tax Day will be here before you know it, Learn more Taxes and Online Sports Betting in the United States)
Yet here we are- United became the first team in history to fall behind 0-2 in the home leg yet overcome the deficit and advance in UCL history.
United’s game and tie winner was scored by Marcus Rashford, after the Red Devils were awarded a penalty over Presnel Kimpembe’s handball.
“That is a disgrace!” Neymar wrote in an Instagram Story, with a screenshot of the play. The Brazilian of course missed the match due to his injured metatarsal, but he did attend the game in person, and he had no problem telling everyone what he thought.
https://twitter.com/utdxtra/status/1103432074105626624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1103432074105626624&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoccer.nbcsports.com%2F2019%2F03%2F06%2Fneymar-criticizes-var-states-how-can-it-be-a-handball-in-expletive-laden-rant%2F
“And UEFA still pick four guys who know nothing about football to review the VAR decision in slow motion… that handball simply doesn’t exist!
“How do you handball behind your back? Ahh.. go f*ck yourselves.”
If that seems excessive, remember that PSG broke the bank on an unprecedented scale to build their roster, and that it was all for the purpose of winning the UCL. Yet here they are again- ousted in the round of 16.
As for Neymar, it remains to be seen when he’ll return to action, and it may be a little while yet.
Neymar’s face when Marcus Rashford smashed in that late penalty ??? pic.twitter.com/3hNIlqorsc
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) March 6, 2019
When he does get back, PSG won’t really have anything left to play for this season…so when you consider all those factors, what Neymar and did on social media doesn’t really seem all that extreme.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.