Neymar could barely walk properly, let alone play. A muscle injury kept him out of the match against Atlético Mineiro, and all he could do was watch from a box.
Up there, Mineiro’s fans showed no mercy: they started mocking his absence and injury. Neymar, far from keeping quiet, hit back hard.
“I don’t play against small teams. With one knee, I’m still better than your entire team”, he told them, and when the scoreboard was already 2-0, he reminded them of every goal.
Santos ended up winning. But the real star of the night, even without setting foot on the pitch, was Neymar from the stands.