Antonio Barragan has suffered countless humiliation on the pitch from the Brazilian and Barcelona forward, Neymar Jr. but in the last match between Valencia and Barca on Sunday night, Antonio had the last laugh.
It was unbearable for Neymar to accept the loss (2-1), worse still, how could that be from a team Barca had shamefully thrashed Valencia 7-0 back in February?
In the February defeat, Neymar was accused of showboating to the admiration of Barca fans and football lovers all over the world. There’s no doubt that the Brazilian has some kind of magical displays on the pitch.
A humiliated Valencia player asked out of professional courtesy if he could stop trying to embarrass the ten-man visitors. Valencia was already 3-0 down at half-time and there was no hope left.
SuperDeporte reported that, Neymar shrugged, smiled and reminded that Valencia player, Antonio Barragan, that he should “shut up… I earn ten times more than you.”
Barragan has been commended for finding strength in weakness. The verbal insult from Neymar gave the defender an extra motivation against the Brazil skipper on Sunday night. He made sure that Neymar had no chance to dribble past him in many attempts. Neymar’s five shots were all fired off the target except one.
With the recent dip in the team’s performance, Neymar seem to be getting frustrated each passing day and for every match lost. Sunday night’s defeat surely added more pressure to the World Cup poster boy who couldn’t bear the pain, he showed by his action that truly, he didn’t find it funny being a loser.
A video from the match showed the Brazilian tapping on one of the Valencia players as the team was celebrating their victory.
The frustration forced Neymar to get personal at the whistle. He went for Barragan from behind, who didn’t waste time in asking the Brazilian, “what’s wrong? So today you’re not full of dancing or insults?”