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21st Sep 2017

Dani Alves reacts angrily to Diego Forlan after criticism of his role in Neymar-Cavani dispute

"He doesn't give the ball to Cavani and then gives it to Neymar as if he were his b****"

Robert Redmond

The fallout from what was a petty dispute continues.

In case you missed it earlier this week, Neymar and Edinson Cavani were involved in an on-field dispute on Sunday night. The Paris Saint-Germain pair twice bickered on the pitch during the 2-0 win over Lyon.

The Qatari-owned club won a penalty through Kylian Mbappe in the 79th minute, and had the chance to double their lead.

Cavani collected the ball and stepped up to take the spot kick, as he has been PSG’s designated penalty-taker since Zlatan Ibrahimovic left for Manchester United in 2016. However, the Uruguayan striker forgot to check with Neymar if it was okay. Because Neymar is the world’s most expensive player, and what he says goes. Who is going to stop him getting what he wants at the club?

Cavani, that’s who, and the former Napoli striker told him where to go as Neymar stood over him before walking away shaking his head. Cavani’s penalty was saved, but Neymar was out of line.

According to reports, Cavani and Neymar continued to argue following the match, and had to be separated before they came to blows. The Brazilian has allegedly told the Qatari-owned club to sell Cavani as the first available opportunity and unfollowed him on Instagram.

Cavani hasn’t bowed to football’s King Joffrey though. According to L’Equipe, the striker told Neymar that he “did not appreciate his attitude.”

However, as admirable as Cavani’s stance has been, it could very well result in his departure from PSG. Neymar embarrassed himself with his on-field behaviour, and was aided by his old pal Dani Alves.

Earlier in the match, Alves prevented Cavani from taking a free-kick. The Brazilian full-back wouldn’t give his teammate the ball, handing it instead to Neymar.

Cavani looked on despairingly, appearing offended and hurt by the actions of his so-called teammates. It was an embarrassing sight and one that seemed pre-arranged between the Brazilian pair.

 

Diego Forlan was asked for his thoughts on the incident between Cavani, his former Uruguay teammate, and the Brazilian pair, and the former Manchester United striker didn’t hold back.

According to ESPN, he said on Radio Sport 890:

“What doesn’t make any sense is what Alves does, he doesn’t give the ball to Cavani and then gives it to Neymar as if he were his b****. Cavani deserves respect. He has been scoring goals for years, taking penalties. There has to be respect. Neymar would not have done that with [Lionel] Messi. He didn’t want Cavani to take the penalty. He was like a little boy annoying him.”

Word reached Alves of Forlan’s comments, and he wasn’t best pleased.

According to ESPN, the tweets read:

 “I don’t know what match you were watching, but for your information, I didn’t take the ball away from any of my teammates. It was just the opposite, it was taken from me! And also for your information, the last penalty kick for PSG was mine. So shut your trap and stop making drama in my name.”

So, according to Cavani, Neymar has a bad attitude, Forlan reckons Neymar is a “little boy”, and Alves is his “b****”. While Alves thinks Forlan should “shut his trap.”

This sounds like a tag-team steel cage match in the making. Our money is on the Uruguayans.