Neymar Alleged to Have Shouted Abuse at Jordi Alba During Barcelona vs. Valencia

Barcelona star Neymar has been caught on camera allegedly using expletive language towards team-mate Jordi Alba during his side’s 2-1 loss to Valencia on Sunday. 

The Brazil international forward is enduring a difficult run of form at the moment, and when he didn’t receive the ball from Alba during the game he let his frustrations out, according to Movistar + (h/t Marca's Adam Gratton). “Go f--k yourself! What? What? You got a problem.”

Here’s the clip in question, which contains expletive language:

Barcelona are on a very poor run of form. Not only were they eliminated by Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the Blaugrana have taken just one point from a possible 12 in La Liga, with three defeats in a row.

As the club gear up for a vital clash against Deportivo La Coruna at the Riazor on Wednesday night, Atletico Madrid are level on points in the title race, while Real Madrid are just one further back.

According to Marca's Edward Smith, there’s still a jovial atmosphere in the Barcelona camp and little angst between Neymar and his team-mates. “The Brazilian turned up to training with a new look, much to the amusement of his team-mates who all wanted to feel his new slick locks,” it was reported.

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While there are many factors behind Barcelona’s downturn in form, Neymar’s own lack of spark has been one of the main contributing factors. The Brazilian has now gone five games without scoring having been considered by many to be the best player in the world for a spell earlier in the season when Lionel Messi was out injured.

Spanish football expert Rafael Hernandez speculated as to why Neymar’s performances on the field have been so poor recently:

When Messi was out of the side the axis of Barcelona’s attacking play was on the left flank and the former Santos man thrived.

Alba's blistering surges around the outside of the Brazilian were key to freeing up space and Neymar was wonderful as a result. His goalscoring, creativity and link-up play with Luis Suarez meant that Messi wasn’t missed during his spell on the sidelines. While Neymar has thrived with his fellow forward in the team, the decline has been noticeable lately.

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As ESPN FC’s Gabriele Marcotti posted, the trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez have played a lot of football, so it'd be no surprise if they were jaded:

One of the most admirable parts of Barcelona’s exceptional early-season form was the enjoyment with which they played the game, especially the front three. 

Neymar is a player who needs to take risks in possession and when things aren’t coming off for him consistently, as is the case at the moment, it can be infuriating for team-mates and for himself. Still, the Brazilian has come up with some massive goals in his Barcelona career, and his team will need a few more if they’re to salvage something from this campaign.