Why Neymar slapped Robinho’s son during Santos training

Neymar has apologized after a training ground altercation with Santos youngster Robinho Jr., the son of former Brazil star Robinho, in an incident that has become one of the most talked about football stories in Brazil this week.

According to Brazilian media reports, things got heated during a Santos training session after Robinho Jr. dribbled past Neymar in a practice drill. What started as frustration reportedly turned into an argument before Neymar pushed and slapped the 18 year old.

The story grabbed even more attention because Neymar has often spoken about wanting to guide Robinho Jr. through his early football journey, much like how the elder Robinho helped Neymar when he first broke through at Santos as a teenager. The teenager even consider Neymar as his idol.

After the incident started making headlines, Neymar publicly admitted he went too far. As quoted by BBC Sport, the Brazilian superstar said:

“I did overreact, yes, in the way I reacted. It could have been different but I ended up losing my head. Everyone makes mistakes. It was my mistake, his mistake, I made a slightly bigger mistake.”

Neymar also tried to downplay the situation by describing it as something that can happen in football environments.

“He’s [Robinho] a boy I like very much, for whom I have a special affection. It happens in football, you argue with your friend, your brother. That’s football, it’s part of the game.”

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There now seems to be peace between the two. Neymar was later seen embracing Robinho Jr. during Santos’ recent match, while the youngster himself reportedly accepted the apology and considers the issue closed.

Santos had initially looked into the matter internally after representatives linked to Robinho Jr. raised concerns over the incident, but the club later indicated everything had been sorted out.

Neymar has never really stayed away from controversy throughout his career, and even at 34 that still seems to be the case. With the Brazilian superstar pushing for a place in FIFA World Cup plans under Carlo Ancelotti, incidents like this are unlikely to help his case at a time when the focus ideally should be fully on football.