With Messi and Mbappé off the field, Neymar dragged PSG to a comeback win over Lille. If only he applied himself more often
By Adam White for Get French
Football News
The lights went out. Neymar, his father and Santos’ club president Luis Álvaro were plunged into darkness. A single chair in the corner remained illuminated. Pointing at it, Álvaro said: “This is the chair of the great national sports hero. Since Ayrton Senna’s death, this chair has been vacant. If Neymar Jr stays at Santos and refuses Chelsea’s proposal, he will take his first step toward sitting in this chair.” As Neymar explained in his autobiography, he refused Chelsea’s advances in 2010 and stayed with Santos for three more years before joining
Barcelona. More than a decade on, is he any closer to matching Senna?
Senna’s significance in
Brazil cannot be understated. The intensely passionate and spiritual F1 driver won the world championship in 1988, 1990 and 1991, and encouraged millions of ordinary Brazilians to dream. Neymar and Senna possess different personalities but their talents are similar. However, Neymar’s path to emulating Senna has meandered since Álvaro’s piece of boardroom drama.