He is widely recognised as one of the greatest footballers of his generation but Neymar has often attracted a lot of attention for his profile out the pitch as well as on it.
The Brazilian superstar has now given a candid interview in which he has defended his love of partying away from the pitch and believes that it is a healthy distraction from football which improves his performances on the pitch.
He has insisted that his desire to enjoy himself away from the pitch is normal for anyone and believes that it is best if he is not 100 percent focused solely on playing football.
Neymar has said in quotes carried by Marca: “This is a very peculiar topic, because who doesn’t like to party? If you stay 100 percent focused on playing only football, you will explode.
“Everyone likes to have fun, go out with their friends, with their family. I know when I can go and when I cannot. Quite the opposite of what people think, about me being immature.”
The forward exploded to prominence during a five-year spell at Barcelona between 2013 and 2017, before he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in a world record transfer worth €222m.
The 29-year-old has netted 388 goals across 615 matches for club and country across his career.
