Mattos backs Neymar, confident Santos will avoid relegation: "We'll escape" | OneFootball

Football executive of Santos, Alexandre Mattos defended Neymar after Peixe's 3-2 defeat to Flamengo last Sunday at Maracanã. The star was heavily criticized for complaining about being substituted at the 39th minute of the second half when the team was still losing 3-0.

“The reaction was normal. He was upset in the locker room like everyone else. Not just him, everyone was, because we lost the game,” Mattos defended in the mixed zone after the match.

Neymar returned to Santos' starting lineup after more than a month. The number 10 recently recovered from an injury and made himself available to play against Fortaleza, but missed the game against Palmeiras to continue his recovery process and be in better condition, according to Mattos. The executive even praised the player.

“Neymar is at Santos because he wants to be at Santos. Neymar's issue is not financial, it's not a lack of a project. He wants to be at Santos because he wants to. In the game against Fortaleza, it was said in front of me by his staff and the health committee that he couldn't play, but he said: ‘No, I want to play’. Sorry for the word, but he said we were in the s*** and needed to play. That's why he didn't play on Thursday. Then the fake news starts that he didn't play because of the synthetic field. No, Neymar didn't play because he shouldn't have played against Fortaleza, but he wanted to play,” revealed the director.

“He needed to go through this process. If he played on Thursday, the risk was greater and today he wouldn't play. Neymar is more than committed, he was very upset in the locker room. You see that he is giving his all, just like everyone else. Ah, he might be technically poor, I might not like that player, okay, we understand. But everyone is trying to give their all, just like me, just like the president and everyone at the club,” he added.

Guilherme also defended his teammate

Another who defended Neymar was forward Guilherme, who also returned to Santos' starting lineup against Flamengo. The star left the bench before the final whistle and didn't even see the team's two goals, but number 11 downplayed the action.

“No, no. I think Ney is a reference for us and I can't say what suddenly went through his mind. But of course, like everyone else, Ney is also upset about the result. He's a guy who just wants to help, and so do we. It's a collective effort. And when he's on the field, we try to do everything to help him and get the result. Today we couldn't, but on Saturday we'll have another opportunity,” said the player.

Mattos confident in staying in Serie A

Alexandre Mattos also gave a brief overview of his still short tenure at Santos and expressed confidence in the team's stay in Serie A. The football executive was hired by the club in June this year and participated in the second transfer window, helping to bring in players like Adonis Frías and Alexis Duarte.

The Alvinegro Praiano is in a complicated situation in the Brasileirão standings. The Santos team is in 17th place with 33 points – two less than Vitória, the first team outside the relegation zone. Furthermore, the club hasn't won in five games in the national tournament.

“[I had] an arrival in the middle of the season, where our mid-year window is the worst because good players have already played. There's no way to transfer. We have a group we trust and believe in. Obviously, some can play more and came to Santos to play more, and we're trying to recover that. But there's no point in making the usual speech and apologizing to the fans for the poor campaign we're having. Later on, we'll make that apology again because we'll escape, and even so, it's very little for Santos. Santos has to be competing at the top, and we'll work to make that happen,” concluded the executive.

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