Marquinhos Admits Neymar Planned to Mock Erling Haaland During Champions League Win
By Dom Smith
Paris Saint-Germain star Marquinhos has admitted that Neymar’s playful celebration against Borussia Dortmund that mocked Erling Braut Haaland was preplanned.
PSG and Dortmund met in the Champions League round of 16, completing both legs of their tie before the global football calendar was put on hold because of the coronavirus outbreak.
In the pair's first meeting in Dortmund, Haaland scored a sensational brace to sink the Parisians, celebrating his goals with his trademark ‘zen’ position.
In the pair's first meeting in Dortmund, Haaland scored a sensational brace to sink the Parisians, celebrating his goals with his trademark ‘zen’ position. He followed up by posting a cheeky Instagram story ahead of the second leg in Paris that stated the French capital was 'my city, not yours', before things went a little bit wrong.
Instead, PSG turned the tide on Dortmund thanks to Neymar - who had scored the away goal in Dortmund two weeks prior - and the Brazilian proceeded to mock Haaland's celebration after scoring, as well as during the post-match celebrations.
Many had been left wondering whether or not the celebration was preplanned or not, and the lid on whether it was has now been lifted by Neymar's teammate Marqiunhos. In an interview broadcast on YouTube channel Desimpedidos, he admitted that Neymar had seen Haaland's provocative post, revealing that he chose to respond because he doesn't shy away from controversy and enjoys having a competitive edge.
“He likes that. Neymar is not just a football player. He is not afraid, and always responds to provocations," Marquinhos began.
“After his goal, I asked him if he had changed his mind [about the plan]. He warned me [he would do it after the game if PSG progressed]. I told him to wait until the end of the match, but he told me to leave it and not to stop it.”
PSG did not get away unscathed for allowing their players to mock Haaland though. They were handed a formal warning for what was deemed 'unsportsmanlike conduct’, but they did escape without a fine.
Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised by Neymar's antics - his manager Thomas Tuchel did say back in November that 'sometimes he is provocative and it's a true shame because it is not necessary'. Still, it's good craic for the rest of us.