'I called Neymar out' - Santos fan lifts lid on feisty clash with Brazilian superstar after Santos lose again

As Neymar headed to the changing rooms at Urbano Caldeira on Wednesday night, the ex-Barcelona star got into a spat with a home supporter. Amid the reported swearing and insults, the 33-year-old told the fan to "shut up" and questioned if they were part of the "Peixao" (Santos) faithful. The fan later apologised on social media to the former Paris Saint-Germain forward and Santos, admitting the incident happened in "the heat of the game" but did ask for "more willpower" from the players.

The fan said on social media, via ESPN: "I'm a little upset. I want to apologise to all the Santos fans, both those who were there and those who watched on TV. I got a little carried away today. The Santos team is leaving a lot to be desired. I called Neymar out. I was a little harsh. You can't say 'please' to him. I used some bad language, and he also called me bad language. But it's just in the heat of the moment. I'm not going to give up on my team. I'd like to apologise to everyone, to the entire Santos squad.

"But I also want to ask for and demand a little more desire, a little more grit. Because you players spent 30 days training. This whole mess isn't possible. We lost 3-0, and now we've been beaten again by Inter. The team's running poorly, marking poorly, players lost on the field. We need to review a lot of things. Our president needs to look at a lot of things. I'm a Neymar fan. I fight with my whole family because of Neymar, I fight with my brothers, who are São Paulo fans, but I believe we can improve a little. Here's my apology to Neymar, to the Santos squad, to the fans. We're in this together. Keep going, Santos. We'll improve."

Santos' loss on Wednesday was their third Serie A defeat in their last five outings, leaving them 17th in the table and in the final relegation spot. With 15 games of the season gone, the Brazilian giants, who were promoted back to the top flight last year, are in a dog fight at the bottom of the division. They will need all of Neymar's quality to get out of this bind.

Neymar's Santos side, a team he rejoined earlier this year on a six-month deal before extending that until the end of 2025, will hope to return to winning ways on Saturday when they travel to Sport Club do Recife.