Paris Saint-Germain made Neymar the most expensive footballer of all time last summer because they believed he could inspire them to glory in Europe.
Neymar Jr
The French club’s owners are desperate to win the Champions League for the first time, but their £200 million signing flattered to deceive in their biggest match of the season on Wednesday night.
Neymar was unable to prevent PSG slumping to a 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring either side of half-time and Marcelo adding a late third for the hosts.
PSG now face an uphill battle to seal their place in the quarter-finals. In order to stand any chance of reaching the last eight, Neymar will need to be on top of his game.
In all honesty, the Brazilian is fortunate that he’ll be allowed to participate in the second leg. Already on a yellow card from the first half, Neymar avoided another booking in the second half for a blatant dive.
Referee Gianluca Rocchi gave him the benefit of the doubt, much to the surprise of just about everyone, opting to keep his cards in his pocket on that occasion.
“A couple of players were lucky to stay on the pitch,” Michael Owen said on BT Sport. “Neymar, a blatant dive, the referee spotted it and didn’t have the courage to send him off.
However, it was Neymar’s actions immediately after the full-time whistle, rather than his dive, which really angered football fans on social media.
They all noticed that Neymar appeared to walk off down the tunnel without either applauding PSG’s travelling supporters or, more shockingly, not shaking any of the Real Madrid players’ hands.
While all of his teammates embraced their opponents, Neymar was the first off down the tunnel with a face like thunder.
"Neymar walking straight off the pitch there at the Bernabeu at the end of that match," BT Sport host Lynsey Hipgrave commented.
Fans were fuming with Neymar's 'lack of respect'
But people understandably feel that this showed a complete lack of respect from Neymar towards the Real Madrid players after their victory.
Watch the video of his performance below: