The Brazilian attacker Neymar, a player for the French Paris Saint Germain (PSG), released on social networks images of the dinner for few people with which he will say goodbye to 2020 and ironic the information that he would be organizing a party for 500 guests on December 31.
“Meal at home, with distance between one chair and another. And it's not for 500 people, ”said the Brazilian national team player, commenting on a photo he posted on Instagram of a table decorated for a New Year's party with white flowers and candles.
It was the first time that the former Barcelona player spoke personally on social networks about the multi-day party that, according to press reports, he organized at his mansion in Mangaratiba, a busy spa on the southern coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro.
After the criticism he received both in Brazil and abroad for allegedly promoting a massive and pompous party at a time when the country is experiencing a resurgence of the covid pandemic, Neymar left his mansion in Mangaratiba on Wednesday and traveled to Balneario Camboriú, in the southern state of Santa Catarina and where he also has residence.
His press advisers denied that he had organized a party for many people and said that he would celebrate the arrival of the new year at a dinner with few family and friends.
“Neymar Jr. will not promote any parties this year. We are in the middle of the pandemic and he is with his friends and family and they are going to celebrate the New Year with each other, “said Day Crespo, his press adviser, in a message posted on social networks on Wednesday.
“I hope everyone here is happy after a long and difficult year. We deserve to celebrate our lives. Unique moments will remain eternalized in our memory, ”said the footballer in another comment about a video that he also posted on Instagram and in which both he and his son undergo tests for the diagnosis of the coronavirus.
In addition to the criticism, Neymar received a notification from the Justice to offer explanations about the organization of a party that could facilitate the spread of the covid.
In his response to the notification he received from the Public Ministry, the player alleged that he intended to spend the last night of the year with a few friends and family and denied all information about the party he would organize in Mangaratiba.
Neymar's supposed farewell party for the year caused controversy in Brazil, one of the countries most affected by the health emergency and which, according to the most recent data from the Ministry of Health, already accumulates about 195,000 deaths and at least 7.6 million infected.