Neymar wages causing Barcelona friction: Johan Cryuff

Rio de Janeiro: Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff claims Neymar's signing for Barcelona has created resentment among his Blaugrana teammates.


The 22-year-old Brazilian reportedly earns six million euros a year plus incentives, a figure Cruyff believes is undeserved, reports Xinhua.

"When you are 21 and earn twice as much as the goalkeeper (Victor Valdes), who has won everything for Barcelona, what type of atmosphere does that create in the dressing room?" Cruyff told Brazilian daily O Globo.

"Nobody at the age of 21 can be seen as a God."

Neymar, who joined Barcelona last summer for 57 million euros, has struggled to capture his best form at the Camp Nou. He has seven goals from 21 La Liga matches but has failed to secure a permanent starting berth in Tata Martino's team.

Despite the criticism, Cruyff believes the former Santos prodigy has the ability to prove his doubters wrong.

"I think he will recover because he is technically very good," the 66-year-old former Barcelona playmaker and manager said.

"It doesn't just depend on that. However when he walks into the dressing room the others feel hard done by. It's very difficult mentally to get over that. It's not the first time that I've seen this in football. It happens a lot.