Former Barcelona midfielder Michael Laudrup is standing by is criticism of attacking star Neymar for showboating against Leganes.
The Catalans recorded a dominant 5-1 victory last weekend in which the Brazilian displayed a number of skillful tricks on the ball late in the game.
This raised the eye of Laudrup, however, who claimed Neymar was only looking to humiliate the opposition players.
“Neymar is a great player and behind [Lionel] Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo, he is right there at the level with seven other players. I have no problem when the score is 0-0 to play like he did but having played football at this level, I gave my opinion that at the time, I thought what he did was bad,” said the Dane.
Even after Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, as well as Zinedine Zidane and Diego Simeone spoke out in defence of Neymar’s actions during the week, the ex-Swansea City manager did not back down from his statements.
“If he were my player, I would have defended him just as they did. I think my comments have been exaggerated,” said Laudrup.
“I talk about my experiences. I played here for many years and I have the right to have an opinion. It has nothing to do with what team you support.”
Laudrup registered over 167 appearances for Barcelona from 1989-2004.
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