There’ll not be any feathers, glitter or street parades for the Paris Saint-Germain celebrity this season as he concentrates on staying out of trouble.
Neymar took to Instagram to announce his withdrawal from 2020’s Carnaval parties, adding that he was over the moon to lose out on the partying in his native Brazil.
Carnaval, which celebrates the last days on the Christian calendar until the beginning of Lent, is marked throughout the Americas with raucous street celebrations and reveals.
But it’s in Brazil where the vacation is best known, with Rio de Janeiro and its samba schools and bloco dance bands especially famous.
In prior years, Neymar has been among many famous faces to join in the celebrations, regardless of the date falling right in the center of the European season.
The Paris Saint-Germain ahead was sidelined with a metatarsal injury for last year’s edition and took advantage of his absence to go to Rio, where he hit the headlines due to his existence alongside Brazilian singer Anitta.
This time around, however, Rio will need to do with no footballer’s existence as he formally dropped out of the reckoning, with PSG’s Champions League second leg against Borussia Dortmund looming.
“With immense happiness, I declare that I’m from the 2020 Carnaval,” Neymar said on his official Instagram accounts .
“That’s it. This time there’ll be no controversy. Thanks. Happy Carnaval!”
Neymar’s Carnaval no-show isn’t the first time he has spurned the opportunity to get a wild party in recent weeks.
Having pulled out all the stops for his birthday celebration in 2019, he chose to keep matters simpler for his latest celebrations at the beginning of February, hosting an intimate affair for family and friends at Paris.
While the Brazilian has toned down his lifestyle marginally, however, there continue to be suggestions that all isn’t well at PSG.
Tuesday’s defeat at the hands of BVB was the first time he’d played in four games, and after the final whistle Neymar insisted he might have featured earlier.
“It wasn’t my choice to not play the last games. I wanted to play with, I felt great,” Neymar said post-match.
“The club was fearful and it’s I who suffer with it.”
PSG and Neymar are back in action on Sunday, when they host Bordeaux.
