Neymar has risked reigniting his war of words with Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe, despite Lionel Messi acting as a mediator to help quell their feud.
Neymar shared a post on social media that congratulated Karim Benzema on winning his maiden Ballon d'Or crown, but was also critical of how his Brazilian teammate Vinicius Junior missed out on a podium finish. He said: "Benzema deserved it. But for Vini, being 8th is not possible. He should at least be in the top three."
Vinicius finished two places behind Neymar's PSG teammate Mbappe – yet the 30-year-old believes his fellow forward should have finished lower down the rankings, as he was not referenced in his analysis of the leading players. Mbappe and Neymar fell out over the order of penalty-takers earlier this season in a Ligue 1 clash as the fractious relationship between the two came to light.
