Neymar says a report claiming he mistreated teammates while playing for club side Santos on Saturday is the result of “lies on the internet” by people who “don’t know football”.
Brazil record scorer Neymar “bothered a large portion” of Santos’ squad by “going overboard in the tone” of his remarks to Gabriel Bontempo and Joao Ananias, according to Globo, who said both the midfielder and defender later denied there had been an issue.
Citing sources, the outlet alleged Neymar did not take part in a scheduled training session on Sunday but briefly attended to have coffee and take photos before leaving without permission, leading to board members visiting Santos’ base to investigate the situation.
“I’m seeing some stuff coming out saying that I called out the young players in the locker room,” Neymar said in an Instagram video.
“That is a total lie. Whoever passed that along, please don’t do that. Don’t do that – don’t lie. Don’t lie – you can ask anyone you want who’s in this dressing room.”
Neymar Instagram video: What Santos striker said
Neymar denied he had targeted 21-year-old Bontempo or 19-year-old Ananias during relegation-threatened Santos’ 2-2 home draw with rock-bottom Chapecoense.
“Good Sunday to everyone,” said the 34-year-old. “It wasn’t the Sunday we wanted, but that’s it: heads up and keep working.
“There was accountability for the team… we held each other accountable because we’re competitive, we want to win, we want to succeed.
“But there was no calling out of the young players at all. I won’t accept that. From now on, I won’t accept you guys putting out these lies on the internet.
“Got it? We’re in this together, and that’s that. It’s on us. And another thing: if we do have to hold each other accountable inside the dressing room, regardless of who it is, then that’s normal in football.
“It’s normal for a group that wants to win. You guys making these malicious, fake news articles don’t know anything.
“You don’t know football and you’re not part of – and have never been part of – a squad.”
The former Al-Hilal, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona striker explained that he had “talked” with “all of” his teammates as part of their desire to win, namechecking Gabriel Brazao, Lucas Verissimo, Willian Arao and Gabriel.
The video ended with a clip showing clouds from an aeroplane window, accompanied by the best-known lyric of Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds: “Don’t worry about a thing”.
Neymar: Brazil superstar denies news report
The report said the alleged “episode” was “yet another friction point leading to discomfort among a large part of the Santos squad with the star player”, claiming Neymar has “annoyed” players and executives.
It said Neymar’s teammates had been “unimpressed” by his participation in a poker tournament on Tuesday – the same day they travelled to Venezuela to beat Universidad Central 4-1 in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana knockout round play-off tie.
Some sections of the Brazilian press criticised Neymar at the time he took part in the poker tournament, which took place while he was returning to full fitness following the World Cup 2026.
Making his comeback after the finals in the game against Chapecoense, two-goal Neymar celebrated by pretending to deal poker cards, having explained at the time of the reports that he had trained with Santos and been given permission to pursue his pastime.
Santos vs Chapecoense: Neymar goals
Neymar exchanged a one-two with Argentinian winger Alvaro Barreal before putting the eight-time Brazilian champions ahead in the 36th minute of the match, but they are a point above the drop zone after being held by opponents who are at the foot of Serie A by eight points.
Marcinho’s equaliser after the break – allowed following a Video Assistant Referee review – and Joao Ananias’ 62nd-minute own goal gave the visitors a surprise lead.
Neymar, who was booked for shoving Bruno Tubarao, then kept his cool to salvage a draw and keep his side 14th, a point above the relegation zone.
The altercation with Tubarao led to Neymar’s third successive booking in Santos matches and has earned him a suspension.
Neymar Santos stats
Neymar now has six goals in this season’s Serie A, finding the net for his club for the first time since May 10 on his first Santos appearance since May 17.
He has been cautioned in four of his last five games for club and country and has a total of nine yellow cards in 2026, which matches the number of goals he has scored in all competitions.
Still the world’s most expensive player from his £200m move from Barcelona to PSG in August 2017, Neymar is under contract with Santos until the end of the calendar year.
World Cup 2026: Neymar returns from Brazil cameo
A surprise inclusion in Brazil’s squad following a succession of injury issues, Neymar missed his country’s opening draw with Morocco and subsequent win over Haiti because of a calf problem.
Brazil used Neymar briefly during their win over Scotland in their third group stage match but kept him on the bench for their 2-1 comeback victory against Japan in the last 32.
Head coach Carlo Ancelotti again introduced Neymar as a second-half substitute in Brazil’s 2-1 last-16 defeat to Norway.
The Selecao conceded twice with Neymar on the pitch, meaning his added-time penalty counted for nothing as the five-time champions were knocked out.
When is Neymar’s next game? Santos fixtures
With 19 matches of the Brazilian season played, only bottom two clubs Chapecoense and Remo have fewer wins than Santos’ total of five.
Neymar could be involved in their return match at home to Universidad Central on Wednesday.
They then visit Sao Paulo in the league, play a two-legged Brazilian Cup tie against Remo and host Athletico-PR and travel to Vasco in the top flight.
| Date | Opponents | BST kick-off time | ET | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weds, Jul 29 | Universidad Central | 01:30 | 20:30 | 17:30 |
| Thurs, Jul 30 | Sao Paulo | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Sun, Aug 2 | Remo | 01:00 | 20:00 | 17:00 |
| Weds, Aug 5 | Remo | 01:30 | 20:30 | 17:30 |
| Sun, Aug 9 | Athletico-PR | 22:30 | 17:30 | 14:30 |
| Sun, Aug 16 | Vasco | 23:00 | 18:00 | 15:00 |
Neymar Brazil stats
The 2021 Copa America Best Player has 130 caps and broke Pele’s record by scoring the 78th of his 80 international goals during Brazil’s World Cup qualifier against Bolivia in September 2023, but ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament against Uruguay the following month.
After missing two games at the 2022 World Cup with an ankle injury, Neymar produced two goals and one assists but was part of a team knocked out by Croatia in the quarter-finals.
The defeat to Norway ensured he has never played beyond the last eight of the tournament, having been ever-present and contributed two goals and two assists before Brazil were knocked out at that stage by Belgium in 2018.
At his first World Cup in 2014, Neymar finished on four goals and one assist in five games but missed Brazil’s 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany and 3-0 third-placed match loss to the Netherlands through injury.
