🤯 Relegation battle drama: Neymar celebrates a goal that never was | OneFootball

Phantom goal, but different: Neymar seems to be losing his nerves a bit in the relegation battle with FC Santos. In a league game against SC International on Wednesday night, he celebrated a goal without waiting for the ball to actually cross the line (spoiler: it didn't) and argued with one of his own fans after the final whistle.

But how did it come to this?

An opponent's header cleared the ball from the five-meter area, superstar Neymar got the ball at his feet, shot from about nine meters and a half-left position, the ball went from the goalkeeper's glove to the right post and towards the goal line. Immediately, Neymar turned around, slid to his knees towards the corner flag, kicked it to pieces, and celebrated his goal in front of the fans - only to realize shortly afterwards that he was alone in his joy.

But why? Are his teammates not happy that not even the superstar could free his hometown club from relegation worries since his return at the beginning of the year? Not at all. The reason for his solo jubilation is a different one: the supposed goal wasn't one at all. While the Brazilian had already turned towards the corner flag, the opposing goalkeeper Sergio Rochet was able to clear the ball from the line with a quick turn and a dive - Neymar celebrated alone a goal that didn't exist, while behind him the game continued normally after the goalkeeper's kick-off.

Arguing with a fan in the relegation battle

Particularly bitter: this Neymar goal would have been an important one. At the time, Santos was trailing 1-2, so it would have meant equalizing shortly before the end and thus earning a point in the relegation battle. The situation is getting increasingly dire for Neymar and Co. Currently, Santos is in 17th place, the relegation spot, after nine defeats in 15 games.

Not even the final whistle could finally free Neymar from this bitter evening: he got into an argument with a Santos fan in the stands and got into a heated discussion. He justified himself on Instagram today, saying that the fan had insulted him in an unacceptable way.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 Ricardo Moreira - 2025 Getty Images