Former Barcelona star Neymar has issued a damning five-word response to Ballon d’Or winner Rodri’s comments about Vinicius Junior, claiming he’s now suddenly become a ‘talker’. The Spanish midfielder became the first player from the country to win the award since 1960 when he pipped the Real Madrid forward to the honour.
Vinicius, along with other representatives from the European champions, chose to boycott the ceremony after finding out about his defeat, with Rodri implying afterwards that his fellow competitor needed to represent himself better off the field. In response, Neymar, who is an international colleague of Vinicius, gave a brutal response on social media, slamming the 28-year-old.
Neymar Calls Out Rodri on Social Media
The 32-year-old was quick to defend Vinicius online
Reacting to a social media post that included comments Rodri had made about Vinicius Jr, Neymar fired his shot in the comments by calling out the midfielder for “becoming a talker now.”
The Spaniard’s initial comments that sparked the fury came during an interview with El Larguero, where he gave the 2024 runner-up some words of advice. As quoted by talkSPORT, the Manchester City anchorman stated:
“I think he’s an intelligent guy and he’ll realise over time that the more he pays attention to the pitch, the better he’ll be. Like everyone, he has areas for improvement both on and off the pitch, he’s young.
“I’m sure that people will give him good advice and even more so when he’s at Madrid. It’s a club with values. Athletes are not just what you represent on the field, but also off it.”
The final sentence appears to be a dig at Vinicius’ actions after learning he was not going to win the Ballon d’Or, despite having planned a lavish party to celebrate his expected victory.
Given that Rodri will likely be out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury, the 24-year-old winger will have the advantage going into next year’s edition of the event, so long as he can stay fit. Vinicius has so far managed 19 goal contributions in 17 appearances for Real Madrid this term.