Neymar returned to PSG for the first time this season on Saturday after a long injury layoff and nearly endless transfer drama. The Parisian fans jeered him relentlessly and viciously, angry he tried to leave. The response was an unbelievable Neymar bicycle kick in the 92nd minute to give PSG a 1-0 win over Strasbourg.
Count Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo among the legion of Parisians happy Neymar did not bolt the French capital to return to Spain this summer. But she’s not content with Neymar sticking with Paris Saint-Germain — she wants the big-eared trophy.
The European transfer window slammed shut yesterday with Paris Saint-Germain at the center of everything. Neymar, reportedly the subject of three different bids from Barcelona, is staying put for another season, and the club further strengthened its ambitions by adding three-time Champions League-winner Keylor Navas from Real Madrid for $14.3 million and Mauro Icardi from Inter Milan on a season-long loan. PSG could sign the striker permanently next summer for a total of $76.8 million.
Is there such a thing as a disastrous 4-0 victory? There is if you’re Paris Saint-Germain and you’re beating down on Ligue 1 opponents while waiting for the Champions League group stage to begin.
PSG laid waste to Toulouse yesterday at the Parc des Princes thanks to a brace from Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, a Mathieu Goncalves own goal and a towering header from Marquinhos, but the main story was the injuries suffered by star attackers Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappé.
Money is becoming increasingly inflated in soccer over the last five years. It seems like each year a new record transfer fee is set both at a club level and international level. This has been possible thanks to incredible broadcast rights fees in other countries that then trickle down to teams in each league. Teams then have more money to spend on players and clubs take advantage of that, setting ridiculous asking prices for their players as the sponsorship money just rolls in alongside the lucrative TV deals and funding from club owners.
Before yesterday’s Ligue 1 match between defending champion PSG and Rennes at Roazhon Park, all of the talk was centered around Neymar’s complete absence from the squad. After the match, the only name being mentioned was that of 16-year-old Rennes defensive midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.
Camavinga only made his senior debut last April — going on to total seven Ligue 1 appearances last campaign — but he was instrumental in his side’s shock 2-1 upset of PSG last night.
Major League Soccer has seen its expansion teams work out very well in recent years, especially with clubs like LAFC and Atlanta United coming to the forefront of American soccer. With one eye on the future, the next big exciting team in MLS looks to be Inter Miami, owned by soccer legend David Beckham.
According to the Telegraph, Manchester City and England star Raheem Sterling has been offered a contract worth $120 million from Nike subsidiary Air Jordan to be face of the company’s upcoming soccer line.