Investigating Neymar’s Curious Injury Record on His (& His Sister’s) Birthday

Neymar will celebrate his 28th birthday on 5 February (Feliz Aniversário!), but his festivities looked to have been spoiled as he was ruled out of Tuesday’s meeting with Nantes with a rib injury. 

Fortunately, it wasn’t serious enough to stop him throwing a lavish party on Sunday. Phew.

The Brazilian is well known for his love of parties, having thrown a number of huge get-togethers, shindigs and soirées and in the past. It was thought that he might opt for something a little more casual this year…but the allure of a big bash was clearly too strong to resist and instead he threw a lavish (apparently white themed) do at Yoyo nightclub in Paris on Sunday. 

Neymar will miss Tuesday’s game with Nantes as he recovers from his rib injury, but this isn’t the first time he has been ‘injured’ around his birthday.

​Neymar was sidelined with a foot injury last year (but was still partying on crutches), while he was ‘rested’ for a Coupe de France meeting with Sochaux back in 2018. Such rotten luck.

He is yet to play around his birthday since moving to Paris Saint-Germain…which just looks like a coincidence, right? 

Perhaps, but then you see his match record around the date of his sister Rafaella Santos’ birthday, 11 March.

The ‘curse’ of his sister started back in 2015 when he was still with ​Barcelona. Neymar picked up too many yellow cards and ended up being suspended around his sis’ celebrations, so La Blaugrana allowed him to return to Brazil.

Another suspension followed in 2016, as Neymar returned to celebrate with his sister yet again at a huge Disney-themed party.

A muscular problem sidelined him around the date in 2017, and the injury trend has continued in Paris. Foot injuries forced him to miss plenty of matches in both 2018 and 2019, but he was still able to go celebrate with his sister.

It’s a coincidence which has not gone unnoticed, and even ​Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has called him out on it.

“I like to play with the best and Neymar is one of them,” he told Cadena SER (via ​Marca), adding with a laugh, “What we would have to negotiate is his sister’s birthday.”

This year, PSG will take on ​Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their ​Champions League last 16 tie on 11 March…

Source: 90min.com