Neymar faces artificial pitch to extend Santos form vs Atlético-MG | OneFootball

Despite being against synthetic turfs, Neymar is set to defend Santos in the match against Atlético-MG, for the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship. The attacking midfielder, in fact, has great numbers against Galo.

In eight matches against the Minas Gerais team, the 33-year-old player has six goals and three assists. There are three wins, three losses, and two draws.

All goal involvements were during his first stint with Peixe. In this second one, the only encounter with Atlético-MG does not bring back good memories.

In the first round of the Brasileirão, in a match held at Vila Belmiro, Neymar had to leave just 34 minutes into the first half due to a muscle injury. He was returning from another injury precisely in this match.

The star was sidelined for over a month due to the injury. Now, he arrives for the second round match free of problems, but worried about the synthetic turf.

Long-standing criticism

Neymar has never hidden his dissatisfaction with stadiums that have artificial grass. Recently, the attacking midfielder classified the Allianz Parque's surface as “society” and stated that playing on such a field is practically impossible for him, regardless of injuries.

“Playing at Allianz (Parque), for me, is practically impossible. Playing on society is one of the things that bothers me as a player, regardless of my injuries. So being able to play at Morumbis, on a field that is very good, is always better”, he stated.

Moreover, the star was part of a campaign that gained strength against synthetic turfs, involving several players from the elite of Brazilian football, such as Gabigol, Dudu, Lucas Moura, Thiago Silva, and Philippe Coutinho.

They posted on social media images and texts criticizing the use of artificial fields, highlighting that “football is natural, not synthetic” and defending that the solution for bad turfs is investing in quality fields, rejecting the use of synthetic surfaces in professional football.

Neymar also responded to a post by Memphis Depay recently.

“Artificial turf kills the game. Brazil, when will you listen to the players?”, the Corinthians striker questioned in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “I agree”, the Brazilian star replied.

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