Summer 2016 will be a busy one for Brazil, with the Copa América in the USA and then the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and their star striker Neymar wants to play in both tournaments.
The Copa América Centenario runs from the 3rd-26th June, and the Olympics, in Neymar’s home nation, will last from the 3rd-20th August. If he were to participate in both, Neymar would not only miss pre-season with Barcelona, but only have about two weeks off before preparation for the Olympics begins.
However, the attacker – who is part of the Catalans’ explosive M-S-N trio alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez – is already taking the necessary steps to ensure he can represent his country.
“I’m talking to the necessary people so I can play at Copa America and the Olympics,” he said, as reported in the Daily Mail.
“The will of the player always prevails, but in this case it’s a little different as it doesn’t only depend on me.”
“I’ve made it clear I want to play in both, but it’s something Dunga and Luis Enrique are discussing and nothing’s been decided yet.”
Neymar is a busy player; he hasn’t had a full off-season’s worth of rest since the end of 2012. With his move to Barcelona coming off the back of the 2013 Confederations Cup, and his two summers since punctuated by the World Cup and Copa América.
Still, the young star is undeterred and wants to keep on representing his country.
Despite Neymar’s enthusiasm for playing, Luis Enrique will loathe to let one of his three star strikers expend so much energy in the off-season. Whatever honours Barcelona are to win this season, they would be eager to compete on multiple fronts again next season and a fully rested Neymar would be integral to that.
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