Barcelona wants Neymar to remain at Barca until 2020

Neymar's agent, Wagner Ribeiro has claimed that Spanish club Barcelona want Neymar to remain at the club until 2020.

The Brazilian moved to Camp Nou from Santos in 2013 and his current deal is set to expire in 2018, but his representative has said the club want to tie the player down for a further two years.

 

"Of course Barcelona want to renew his contract. Until 2020? Yes," he said.

 

Speaking at the launch of a project designed to help the disadvantaged in Brazil, Neymar said: "I'm happy in Barcelona. I have a contract there and there's still a lot left for me to do."

 

World Cup: Netherlands beat Brazil 3-0 to claim third place spot

Again, in front of home fans and their injured star player (Neymar) who sat on the bench, the Brazilians were crushed by the Netherlands 0-3 in the fight for a third place finish at the World Cup on Saturday.

Captain of the host team Thiago Silva did not feature in the 7-1 debacle against Germany but on his return on Saturday, he was instrumental to the early goal his side conceded after he pulled Arjen Robben in the box which resulted into a penalty Cooly slotted in by Robin Van Persie.

Six minutes later, David Luis poor header which was meant to be a clearance fell to Daley Blind who controlled perfectly and scored the second as the Brazilians chased shadows and tried rallying back but conceded another later scored by Georginio Wijnaldum.

Arjen Robben was awarded the Man of The Match as coach of the side Louis Van Gaal ended his reign as the handler of the Dutch national team.

The most popular in Brazil even more than Neymar right now (Pictures)

Neymar injured! Out of World Cup

Brazil defeated Colombia 2-1 to qualify for semi final but the sad news is that their superstar striker Neymar, has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup after he was reported to be suffering a fractured vertebra.

22-year-old Neymar was carried off after an aerial collision with Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga as he got a knee in the back.

“The exam showed he suffered a fracture of the third vertebra” in his back, Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said.

The Barcelona star no doubt has been a key man for the host having four goals to his name.

Brazil face Germany in a semi final contest on Tuesday.

Round of 16: Brazil to play Chile, Holland face Mexico

Neymar was the closure of all eyes as Brazil took Cameroon to the cleaners beating the Africans 4-1 in the last Group A game on Monday night which confirmed the host as the leader of the Group.

The Barcelona star grabbed a brace in the encounter to increase his goal tally in the tournament to four.

In the other Group game Mexico defeated Croatia to also confirm a place in the next round and will be facing Group B leaders Holland.

Chile also qualified from Group B and have set a date the the host nation Brazil in an all south American affair.

Brazil beat Croatia 3-1 in World Cup opener

By every standard, you'll agree that the opening match of the World Cup between the host Brazil and Croatia was quite competitive. It therefore goes to foretell what to expect in the games to come in the other group matches.

Without mincing words, Croatia seemed up to the task especially after being set in front by Marcelo's own goal in the early minutes of the first half.

For the home team, the they have to thank their Heavens just like Neymar did after scoring his second goal from the penalty spot.

Neymar turned up, Sleek Oscar who finished off the Europeans grabbing the third later in the match, Julio Cesar almost had very little to do was also called up and he stood the tests.

Don't be deceived by the final score. It wasn't easy for Brazil putting three past Croatia, they were hard-earned goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed FIFA World Cup Player on Twitter

Quite interesting stats shared by @Austynzogz on Twitter showing which player will be in Brazil and has the most followers.

No Kaka, Ronaldinho, in Brazil World Cup Squad

Yes, big names missing in Brazil's 23-man world cup squad. The likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka, Philippe Coutinho Lucas Moura and a host of others.

Majority of the players selected were those Felipe Scolari used in prosecuting the Confederations Cup.

The squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Júlio César (Toronto FC), Jéfferson (Botafogo),
Victor (Grêmio).

Defenders: Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Maicon (Roma), Marcelo
(Real Madrid), Maxwell (Paris Saint-Germain), David Luiz
(Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain), Dante (Bayern
Munich), Henrique (Napoli).

Midfielders: Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Paulinho
(Tottenham), Ramires (Chelsea), Fernandinho (Manchester
City), Oscar (Chelsea), Willian (Chelsea), Hernanes
(Internazionale), Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk).

Forwards: Fred (Fluminense), Neymar (Barcelona), Hulk
(Zenit St Petersburg), Jô (Atlético Mineiro).

Banana Throwing Fan banned for life

The Villareal fan who threw a Banana at Dani Alves during a La Liga match on Sunday has been identified and banned for life by the club.

Alves picked up the Banana, peeled and ate it before taking the corner kick to make a mess of the racist taunt.

According to reports from Spain, the concerned club has however issued a statement which reads "Villarreal CF wants to communicate that the club deeply regrets and condemns the incident that happened yesterday during the match against FC Barcelona in which a fan threw an object onto the field of El Madrigal.

"Thanks to the security forces and the invaluable assistance of the Yellow crowd, the club has already identified the person and has decided to withdraw his season tickets, permanently banning his access to El Madrigal stadium.

"Once again our club would like to express its firm commitment to promoting respect, equality, sportsmanship and fair play both on and off the field and our absolute rejection of any act that is contrary to these principles, such as violence, discrimination, racism and xenophobia."

Barcelona however openly condemned the act while Alves and other players like Sergio Aguero and Neymar made fun of the taunt suggesting that the best way to handle such matter is to make a humour of it.

More Trouble for Barcelona as Neymar and Alba suffer injury

Neymar Jr picked up an injury in the Copa del Rey final against Real
Madrid. The player sustained a contusion that caused an edema
in the fourth metatarsal of his left foot.

According to a statement on the club website, the player will begin treatment and will be out of action for four weeks. If Neymar will be able to participate in the last match of the season, against Atlético Madrid, if recovers in the estimated time.

This is Neymar’s second injury this season. He sustained a
tendon sprain in the 1/8 round of the Cup, against Getafe.

Barca left back Jordi Alba was also confirmed to have sustained a muscle tear in the hamstring of his right leg which could see him out for about three to four weeks.

The first team trained at the Ciutat Esportiva, they were joined by
Barça B's Sergi Gómez, Planas, Ié and Bagnack

International Friendly: Brazil thrash South Africa 5-0

Neymar's treble, Oscar's goal and Fernandinho's stunner helped Brazil outclass South Africa in an international friendly match on Wednesday in Soweto as part of preparation for the World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo also scored twice in a 5-1 thumping of Cameroun by Portugal on same night. Raul Meireles, Fabio Contrao and Edinho got the rest of the goals while Aboubakar scored Cameroun's only goal which was actually the equalizer after Ronaldo's first goal.

In another fixture, in-form Daniel Sturridge scored the lone goal that saw England defeat Denmark at the Wembley Stadium on the night after several scoring opportunities fluffed during the course of the match.

It was France that got the better of the match against Netherland as Karim Benzema and Matudi's goals were enough to secure the win at home .

Some other warm up results:

Spain 1-0 Italy
Belgium 2-2 Ivory Coast
Japan 4-2 New Zealand
Russia 2-0 Armenia
Azerbaijan 1-0 Philipines
Greece 0-2 South Korea
Wales 3-1 Iceland
Poland 0-1 Scotland