Leonardo wants Neymar soap opera to end despite admitting ´not everything is settled´

Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo admits not everything is resolved with Neymar, but he wants the constant talk around the player to end.

Having failed to secure his desired move back to Barcelona in the transfer window, Neymar made his first appearance of the season in Saturday’s Ligue 1 meeting with Strasbourg.

The Brazil star was booed by PSG fans with almost every touch but went on to score the winning goal in the 1-0 victory with a stunning overhead kick in the 92nd minute.

The 27-year-old said afterwards that he expects every game to be like an away match given PSG fans’ frustration with his desire to leave the club.

Leonardo is not prepared to ignore Neymar’s determination to force an exit just two years on from his €222million arrival, but he insists his compatriot should be allowed the freedom to make amends without scrutiny of his every word and action.

Winners  pic.twitter.com/9WZzBOe9xW

— Neymar Jr (@neymarjr) September 16, 2019

“Neymar made mistakes, yes, but when the transfer window ended he came back in a positive way,” Leonardo told RMC.

“He showed up on time [for training] after his matches with Brazil and he behaved very well. He played an important game in not easy conditions. And he scored a spectacular goal, in a Hollywood scenario. And, after the match, he made an honest and very good statement.

“It’s certain that, if we look at what he said word for word, we’ll always find things to comment on. And it’s true that we can’t say today that everything is settled. But you can’t make a Mexican telenovela around it all. We have to play and to train.

“He is now subject to the same internal rules as all the other players. He’s here and he’s part of the club.

“Neymar is not a bad guy. He’s part of the heritage of football, not just PSG. When you look at the squad, and what we have, for sure we are stronger with him.”

PSG meet Real Madrid at Parc des Princes on Tuesday in their opening Champions League group game, with Neymar unavailable due to a three-game suspension.

Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe are set to miss out through injury, leaving Mauro Icardi and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting as PSG’s primary attacking options.