Real Madrid forward Rodrygo has claimed that Neymar is already making plans to retire from international duty, including who to name the heir to his number ten shirt.
30-year-old Neymar has long been rumoured to be considering stepping back from Brazil, with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later this year expected to be the final tournament appearance for the Paris Saint-Germain forward.
In that case, Neymar will have just six months left on his four-goal haul to surpass Pele as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer.
Although Rodrygo has not set a deadline for Neymar’s departure, he has confirmed that the PSG man is thinking about calling it a day..
“Neymar said, ‘I have already left the national team and the number ten is yours’,” Rodrygo told Podpah. “I knew what to say to him, and I giggled and didn’t know what to say.
“I told him he had to play again, I don’t want him to go now, and so on, he just laughed.”
As well as his international future, Neymar’s time at PSG has also been in the spotlight in recent weeks.
Several reports have suggested that PSG are determined to part with Neymar this summer after dipping the amount of money into Kylian Mbappe’s new contract, with an age record and a long injury record working against him.
However, it has recently been reported that Neymar has no plans to leave Paris, despite Ligue 1 champions insisting on a reduction in their salary budget.
Leave a comment