Football

Why Neymar refused to give Cavani penalty against Dijon

Published

8 years ago

January 30, 2018

By Boluwatife Ezekiel Olaleye

Paris Saint-Germain forward, Neymar Jnr., has explained why he blocked Edinson Cavani from taking a penalty against Dijon, which would have made him the club’s all-time top goalscorer.

Neymar refused to gift his team-mate the opportunity to make history, despite leading 7-0 at the time.

Cavani eventually smashed the record with the opening goal against Montpellier last weekend.

With speculation over a fallout and interest from Real Madrid, Neymar has clarified the reasons, but admitted the boos and whistles from his own fans did hurt.

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“Of course it [the whistling] bothered me, but we are here to be whistled and applauded.

“I am happy, especially for the victory. I think we played well.

“It was impossible not to know [about the record]. The coach chose me as the penalty taker though/ and there is no problem with this.

“Everyone [in the team] knows what went on in the changing room, the coach decided and I take on that responsibility.

“I am calm and happy here with my friends and teammates. I came here to make history, give my best and score a lot of goals.

“I’m very happy for him and I’ll try to carry on helping him in every game. I hope that he continues to score a lot more goals for PSG, of course,” Neymar said.