Neymar Acknowledges Mistake After Slap Incident Amid Santos Struggles
Neymar walked off the pitch with a goal and a microphone in his face. The 1-1 draw with Deportivo Recoleta in the Copa Sudamericana had barely settled when the Santos No. 10 chose to confront the story that had been swirling around the club for days.
He did not duck it. He owned it.
The veteran forward confirmed what had been rumoured: a training-ground disagreement with 18-year-old prospect Robinho Jr had gone well beyond the usual noise of a competitive session and turned physical.
“This was supposed to be resolved between us, it was a misunderstanding in training, and I ended up overreacting,” Neymar told reporters, per ESPN, after scoring Santos’ only goal on Tuesday night. He described an argument that escalated, a line crossed, and a dressing-room apology that he believed had closed the matter.
The language was blunt. No excuses, no deflection.
“Yes, I lost my temper. Everyone makes mistakes, it was my mistake, his mistake, I made a bigger mistake,” he said, stressing that he had apologised immediately to Robinho Jr and his family, then again in front of the entire squad on Monday. “If they want a public apology to the press, here it is.”
For Neymar, this was framed as something raw but familiar in football: a flare-up between team-mates, the kind of clash he likened to fighting with a brother or close friend. What stung, he suggested, was not only his own conduct but the way the incident had been dragged into the public arena.
“We thought it was resolved, but sometimes people try to get involved and blow things out of proportion,” he added.
Robinho Jr, the teenager at the centre of the storm and a player who has grown up idolising Neymar, then stepped forward to confirm the core detail. Yes, he was slapped in the face during the session. Yes, it crossed a line. And yes, the apology came quickly.
“That’s what happened [slapped in the face], but, as I said, he apologised right away,” the young forward said. “He realized he had gone too far, apologised several times, and I’ve already said that the apologies are accepted.”
What followed from the youngster was not a condemnation, but a complicated mix of hurt and loyalty. He admitted the episode shook him deeply, not least because of who Neymar has been in his life.
“It upset me because he’s been my idol since childhood,” Robinho Jr said. He recalled the first gift Neymar gave him at the age of eight, a moment so emotional he cried and still treasures the present today. That history, he insisted, mattered when it came to forgiveness.
“Even if it was a mistake, he already apologised and admitted his mistake, he was man enough to admit it. I was also man enough to approach him and talk, and everything is fine,” he added.
The teenager also moved to defuse another flashpoint: his own formal request to terminate his contract, which runs through March 2031. That, he admitted, was a decision made in anger with his agents and has since been withdrawn. He intends to stay and honour the deal.
Around them, noise. Rumours, interpretations, agendas. Robinho Jr made it clear he feels the narrative has been dragged into places that do not match reality.
“The people around us say many things that aren’t true, and it’s sad to see that it’s reached this level. But I’m calm, we’ve talked, and everything is resolved,” he said.
On the pitch, though, very little is resolved for Santos.
Neymar’s goal looked set to give the Brazilian giants a badly needed win in Group D, a small release valve in a continental campaign that has stuttered from the start. The team had control, the crowd sensed a turning point, and for a while the storyline seemed ready to shift from scandal to resurgence.
Then came Fernando Galeano.
The Deportivo Recoleta forward struck late, punishing Santos with a leveller that felt heavier than a routine 1-1. The stadium sagged. The missed opportunity hung in the air.
A single goal against them, but it carried the weight of a group-stage campaign now hanging by a thread.
Santos remain winless in Group D, marooned at the bottom with just three points from four matches. No victories, no margin for error, and a format that shows no mercy: only the group winners advance directly to the Copa Sudamericana round of 16.
The equation is brutally simple now. Santos must win both of their remaining home fixtures, against San Lorenzo and Deportivo Cuenca, to keep any realistic hope of progression alive. Anything less, and a club that still sees itself as a continental force will be staring at an early, bruising exit.
The irony is hard to miss. A team criticised for its intensity in training now needs exactly that edge, channelled and controlled, when it matters most.
The apologies have been made. The dressing room insists the slap is in the past. The question for Santos is whether they can turn that same fire into results before this Sudamericana campaign slips beyond rescue.
