Neymar was booked for a furious reaction to a dangerous challenge on his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe – amid a reported feud between the duo.
Maccabi Haifa defender Abdoulaye Seck committed a poor challenge on the French superstar, which saw the Senegalese player booked – as Mbappe went crashing into the nearby advertising boards. Neymar was incandescent by the challenge and picked up a booking of his own for his angry protest.
In August, Neymar 'liked' two social posts that slammed Mbappe following a dispute over the club's penalty takers, including a post that said the Frenchman "controlled" the club. That comment was within the context of reports claiming that Mbappe would hold great sway in the club's sporting decisions as part of his new three-year contract extension with the Ligue 1 champions.
Mbappe – who was booed by fans at last week's Ballon d'Or awards in Paris after reports emerged that he wants to leave the club – and Neymar had personally clashed, with former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos reportedly forced to step in to separate the feuding pair and boss Christophe Galtier staging a first-team meeting in which the two were rebuked.
Lionel Messi acted as a mediator to help quell the ongoing discontent with reports suggesting that the Argentine recognised that such a clash of egos risked derailing the club's season – despite being on course to retain their Ligue 1 title, as they aim to win their first ever Champions League crown.
That appeared to be unsuccessful, though, with no sign that there has been a genuine reconciliation process between the two. The latest comments in relation to the Ballon d'Or come amid fresh questions over Mbappe's future in Paris after he questioned his role in PSG's team.
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Yet despite all the apparent bad blood between the two, which has come to light in recent times, Neymar's reaction to the foul on Mbappe on Tuesday night suggests that they may now be committed to sticking up for each other on the pitch for their team.
Neymar was incensed by the challenge on his teammate, which, albeit was a poor one from Seck, and was correctly punished by the referee, did not appear to malicious with Mbappe thankfully recovering.
Both players were on the scoresheet in a rampant first half for Les Parisiens, with Messi also finding the net as Galtier's side raced into a 3-1 lead.
