RIO DE JANEIRO — An end-of-year party for 150 people attended by Brazilian soccer star Neymar is drawing scrutiny from local prosecutors, but the town where it is being held said on Wednesday it cannot do anything to prevent the bash from taking place.
Reports of Neymar bringing death and destruction to Brazil by way of a 500-person super spreader event lasting for five consecutive days inside a soundproofed dungeon have been greatly exaggerated.
2020 has been a tough year financially both for clubs and for players.
The economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen transfer values deflate, with the value of many players decreasing independent of their form on the pitch by 10-20 percent.
For clubs this means their assets are worth less to go with a sharp decrease in revenue caused by matches without fans. For players, this means their skills are worth less as well as a decrease in salaries.
Lyon handed PSG a 1-0 loss at the Parc des Princes on Sunday to move into second place in Ligue 1 and send the home side down to third, but the result was much more devastating than that — Neymar was stretchered off in injury time after an awful tackle from Thiago Mendes that resulted in a straight red card.
Back in August, Neymar Jr. ended a 15-year relationship with Nike to sign a new deal with PUMA that reportedly earns him more than $30 million per year. We saw the first fruits of this relationship back in October with the release of Neymar’s first Puma fashion collection, and a new PUMA KING Platinum boot that featured the PSG forward’s logo subtly forming the legendary Formstrip.
Santos and LDU Quito faced each other in an electrifying Copa Libertadores Round of 16 match, in which Santos managed to advance to the quarterfinals after scoring more away goals. The first leg, held in Quito, was very evenly matched and tough for both, but Santos achieved a great result by scoring two goals while their opponent's only got one at home.
The Brazilian national team, historically known for being the best team in the world (winning more World Cups than any other), is once again producing fantastic numbers, which are scaring everyone. After having a catastrophic era between 2010 and 2018 in which they failed in absolutely everything, they have been reborn since the arrival of their current coach, Tite.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Flamengo beat Botafogo 1-0 on Saturday but the derby match was overshadowed by a controversy over Flamengo’s threat to take the home side to court over a banner on display at their Rio de Janeiro stadium.
With the stands empty because of the coronavirus pandemic, Botafogo draped banners around the seats with one reading: “We Care About Lives Here.”
VP do Flamengo ameaça ir ao STJD por faixa colocada no Nilton Santos antes de clássico
This misshapen centre circle on a Brazilian soccer pitch was an unexpected surprise for local clubs.
But irregularities at the Jose Garbelini Stadium were not only limited to the centre circle. Clear deviations could also be seen in the halfway line as well.
The match between local clubs Cambe and Paranavai in the third division series in the southern Brazilian state of Parana went on despite the curiously shaped ring with referee Wagner Malveiro Silva noting "defective" line markings and a centre circle that did not fit "standards".
MONTEVIDEO — First half goals from Arthur and Richarlison gave Brazil a 2-0 win away at Uruguay on Tuesday and maintained their 100-percent record in the South American World Cup qualifiers for Qatar 2022.
Brazil were missing a host of players through COVID-19 and injury, including talismanic striker Neymar, but they were too strong for their opponents, who have not beaten them since 2001.