Neymar has criticized a report claiming he has demanded the dismissal of Al-Hilal head coach Jorge Jesus, insisting on social media that the claims are ‘lies’.
The Brazilian made his long-awaited debut for Al-Hilal last week following his £78m move to the Saudi Pro League, playing 27 minutes in their 6-1 win against Al-Riyadh.
An ankle injury kept him out for six months, with his last league appearance for Paris Saint-Germain coming in February in a 4-3 win against Lille. Neymar returned a goal and an assist during that match, but was taken off the pitch on a stretcher after suffering an injury.
He wasn’t able to play immediately after making the move to Saudi Arabia, but since making his debut for Al-Hilal, the 31-year-old has gotten more minutes in the tank, making two appearances for the club – although not in the selection was mentioned. before their 1-0 King Cup Champions victory against Al Jabalain on Monday.
But according to an Instagram account fiqueiputomesmo_, Neymar had “fought” with the club’s manager Jesus and “asked the club to fire the manager immediately.”
Neymar has hit back at claims of a rift between him and Al-Hilal coach Jorge Jesus as ‘lies’
The Brazilian wrote on Instagram that the report was ‘fake news’ and ‘disrespectful’
Jesus (pictured) was reappointed as Al-Hilal manager earlier this summer after spells at Benfica and Fenerbache
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The former Barcelona and PSG superstar then responded to that claim on the social media platform, calling it ‘fake news’.
He wrote in response to the Instagram post: ‘Lies… Y’all need to stop believing these things, pages like this… with millions of followers you can’t keep posting fake news!
‘With all the respect in the world, I ask you to stop this. This is a huge disrespect.”
Al-Hilal had reappointed the Portuguese coach earlier this summer after he led them to glory in the Saudi Super Cup during the 2018/19 season.
Neymar arrived at his new club alongside former Premier League players Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Kalidou Koulibaly.
The side have not been defeated in the Saudi Pro League so far, but are second behind league rivals Al-Ittihad, having dropped points by drawing against Damac in their last outing and again against Al-Fayha earlier this season.
Since his debut, Neymar, who broke Pele’s record by becoming Brazil’s all-time top scorer during a 5-1 win against Bolivia earlier in September, has so far failed to find the back of the net for his new side, despite now having played 90 minutes in both of his previous appearances.
Neves, meanwhile, scored the only goal of the match against Jabalain on Monday.
Al-Hilal have the chance to top the Saudi Pro League if they achieve victory in their next match against Al-Shabab on Friday.
The 31-year-old (right) made his long-awaited debut for Al-Hilal last week after returning from a long spell on the sidelines with an injury.
Since then, he has made two more appearances after his debut but is yet to find the back of the net