NEYMAR showed his attacking instincts with a five-a-side selection that featured Lionel Messi but no goalkeeper.
Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard also made the cut as the Brazilian insisted upon a forward thinking setup that leaves Paul Pogba as the most defensive player.
In fairness, any side facing such a team would probably never get the ball off them anyway.
Another of Neymar’s former Barcelona colleagues Luis Suarez features with Mbappe the only Paris-Saint Germain man joining the winger.
No Brazil stars were selected by the 27-year-old because he was asked not to in the chat with Red Bull, with clubmates Thiago Silva or Marquinhos potentially included if allowed.
Neymar also selected a five-a-side team based on retired players and that too showed disregard for all things defence.
Four Premier League players were called up; Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham.
Spanish playmaker legend Xavi completed that quintet as once again a goalkeeper went missing.
‘NEW CHALLENGE’
In the discussion with Red Bull, Neymar also referenced a desire to “seek new challenges” in 2020.
An injury-hit 2019 saw the forward once again miss PSG’s exit from the Champions League before a saga-fuelled summer that didn’t result in a move to Real Madrid or Barcelona.
And getting back on track to being one of the globe’s top players is vital for Neymar’s next 12 months.
He noted: “Professionally and personally, 2019 was a tough year for me. It was a year full of learnings and turnarounds.
“I injured myself and had to come back. Then I injured myself again.
“Although it seems like a bad year, it was a year full of learnings and lots of experiences. I am taking the positive side of it so that 2020 can be better.
“My biggest expectation for 2020 is to win everything I can with PSG and the Brazilian team.
“I’ll seek new challenges, I want to be in the Champions League final, I want to win the Copa America once again. These are the challenges I intend to overcome in 2020.”
PSG’s Neymar Jr does boxing workout and shows off his ripped body
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
