Barcelona star Neymar warms the bench

The Brazilian star was an unused substitute in his team’s 7-0 demolition of Osasuna at the Nou Camp on Sunday and his frustration was visible for all to see. Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino opted to start with Pedro and Alexis Sanchez, instead of the Brazil international. With Barcelona leading 3-0 at half-time, the match was […]
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sambafoot_admin
2014-03-17 16:57:00

The Brazilian star was an unused substitute in his team’s 7-0 demolition of Osasuna at the Nou Camp on Sunday and his frustration was visible for all to see.

Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino opted to start with Pedro and Alexis Sanchez, instead of the Brazil international.

With Barcelona leading 3-0 at half-time, the match was ideal for Neymar to go on, put in a good performance and smooth things over with the crowd.

Martino looked like he was thinking the same thing after sending the 22-year-old to warm-up for ten minutes. Despite this, the Argentine instead opted to introduce Tello for the final few minutes.

Neymar did not take it at all well. A few minutes later, he was caught on camera looking very serious and biting his nails.

Prior to the game, Martino stated that Neymar was likely to have been affected by the controversy surrounding his £48.6m transfer to Barcelona from Santos and his recent injury setback.

“If I had to give an explanation for [his form] then I would say it is to do with that," said Martino, referring to the prolonged transfer saga.

“When a player has been out injured a month it is not easy to get back to their best form straight away. It is not like a day, or three days but a month."