PARIS: As the hysteria mounts ahead of Neymar’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) debut on Sunday focus switched from his record transfer fee to the question of which star would make way for the Brazilian.
Le Parisien daily newspaper suggested it would be Javier Pastore, the silky but fragile Argentine who was the first major signing after PSG were bought by their ambitious Qatari owners, who splashed out a world record €222 million ($262 million) for Neymar.
“After first giving up his No.10 shirt, will he (Pastore) now give him (Neymar) his place in the team,” one Le Parisien headline asked of the player who took up the No.10 shirt after Zlatan Ibrahimovic left last season, only to hand it to the Brazilian this season.
“Neymar will start on the left at the cost of Pastore,” the article claimed.
“So it’ll be Neymar, (Edinson) Cavani and without doubt (Angel) di Maria in a three pronged attack,” said Le Parisien, which then gave a long list of top signings who will be warming the PSG bench.
Alongside Pastore will be the Brazilian Lucas Moura, who is rumored to be staying as he has been friends with Neymar since the age of nine, and Germany captain at the Confederations Cup Julian Draxler, who arrived just last year in a big money transfer of his own.
Sports daily L’Equipe saw things differently, though.
“Neymar — the football version,” ran their headline in a joke about how the most expensive transfer in football history has dominated news without the 25-year-old forward even kicking a ball yet.
“A trio of Neymar, Pastore and di Maria will support Cavani,” they predicted, but were unsure where the extra man would be cut.
In the tiny Brittany town of Guingamp, with a population of around 7,000, tickets for the match have been changing hands for a king’s ransom as the Stade du Roduourou has a capacity of just over 15,000.
“We could have filled a stadium of 40,000 seats with no problem at all,” Guingamp President Bertrand Desplat told local newspaper Le Telegramme.
“Remember the star of the show is going to be Neymar and for us we want to welcome this very special player and his team in the best conditions possible,” he said.
Journalists however may find themselves a bit squeezed for space as the rustic press tribune allowing for 80 press seats has been extended to a blockbuster 350.
Meanwhile, sources said Neymar is willing to pay a fine of $2.5 million to settle tax evasion allegations in Brazil.
Neymar fever pitch focuses on PSG makeweight
Neymar fever pitch focuses on PSG makeweight
Detry, LIV Golf veteran Uihlein share first-round lead in Riyadh
- Detry, the newest full-time member of 4Aces GC, shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 under the lights at Riyadh Golf Club
RIYADH: Thomas Detry admitted feeling “a bit nervous” entering his LIV Golf debut on Wednesday.
So did Elvis Smylie, another of the league’s newcomers, but their opening-round performances under the lights at Riyadh Golf Club showed they are both ready to make some serious noise this season.
Detry, the newest full-time member of 4Aces GC, shot a bogey-free seven-under 65 to grab a share of the ROSHN Group LIV Golf Riyadh lead with LIV Golf veteran Peter Uihlein of RangeGoats GC.
Smylie, the 23-year-old rising star who joined the all-Australian Ripper GC, carded a 66 that left him in solo third. The two were among 10 players — eight full-timers and two reserves — playing their first-ever LIV Golf rounds.
Byeong Hun An, the new captain of Korean Golf Club, also sparkled in his debut, shooting 67 to join a group of six players tied for fourth. HyFlyers GC’s Michael La Sasso shot 69 in his pro debut as the league’s youngest player at age 21.
Torque GC grabbed the team lead at 15 under, with the all-South African Southern Guards GC two shots behind. Defending Riyadh champions and reigning LIV Golf Team Champions Legion XIII are in solo third at 11 under.
Detry and Smylie each hit 10 fairways, tying for best in the field, while Detry also was tied for the lead in greens in regulation, hitting 17 of 18. He prepared for playing at night by practicing under the lights with his coach in Abu Dhabi.
“First day on the job, so a little bit of a change for me, so a bit nervous,” said the Belgian, whose most recent win was in February last year on the PGA Tour. “I drove it so well out there, it made my job pretty easy.”
Smylie suffered a bogey on his second hole before finding his rhythm. Five of his seven birdies came on par fours, tying new Smash GC Captain Talor Gooch for most by any other player on Wednesday.
“I think there were a little bit of nerves and excitement, but I think I showed what I’m capable of today, or tonight, I should say,” Smylie said.
While Detry and Smylie were making their first LIV Golf starts, Uihlein was embarking on start number 51 as one of eight original players who have started every tournament since LIV Golf debuted in London in 2022.
He remains in search of his first LIV Golf win, although he won two International Series events on the Asian Tour in 2024. Those were each 72-hole tournaments, and Uihlein hopes LIV Golf’s format switch from 54 holes to 72 starting this season will prove beneficial to him.
“I’m not scared of a blowup every now and then on a hole in particular, so now I have more holes to make it up,” Uihlein said. “I think it’s going to benefit me long-term, which is nice.”
Gooch is among the group lurking at five under. He has won four individual titles and the 2023 season-long Individual Championship, all in the previous 54-hole format. He and the other veteran LIV Golf players have had to adjust their mindset.
“Definitely has a totally different vibe,” Gooch said.
“Only 18 more holes, it’s not that vastly different. But even on the range when we were about to go, I was giving everybody a little fist bump and said, ‘Let’s go get it,’ and Harold (Varner III, his new Smash teammate) said, ‘Hey, don’t come out the gate sprinting. It’s not a sprint anymore.’”
It remains serious business, though, especially with a bevy of newcomers in the expanded 57-player field determined to make a quick impression even while getting used to LIV Golf’s energetic tournament days.
“I think even with the concerts and the entertainment outside of the golf, that’s something that I’m really enjoying,” Smylie said. “I feel like I’m really thriving in an environment like that, and it’s great to start my LIV career here in Riyadh.”
