Club vs. Country

This summer the Brazilian national team will compete in two major tournaments: the 2016 Rio Olympics in August and the Copa America Centenario in June. Brazil’s star forward Neymar, however, may only compete in one.  Neymar’s club team, Barcelona, has publically stated that they will only release Neymar for one of the two tournaments this summer, yet Brazil’s federation has not yet given up. ¹  

Neymar playing for Barcelona Image obtained from Wikimedia Commons

Unfortunately for Barcelona, they are in a bit of a no-win situation. If they do not release Neymar for the second tournament, it would be easy paint them as the villain here.  Neymar is an adult and should be able to choose how many tournaments he will play in this summer.  He deserves the chance to represent and play for Brazil at as many tournaments as he wants.  Yet allowing Neymar to play in a second tournament is risky for Barcelona.  Barcelona’s offseason essentially runs from mid-May when  UEFA Champions League and La Liga finish, to late-August when La Liga play begins again.  If Neymar were to compete in both tournaments, he would be spending most of his offseason playing with the Brazilian team, rather than resting and recovering before another La Liga and Champions League title push.  Barcelona has invested a massive sum of money in Neymar, and he is obviously a key part of their team. If Neymar were to enter the La Liga season already fatigued or worse, injured, it would be a large blow to Barcelona and their chances in both domestic and international competitions.

Image obtained from Wikimedia Commons

Brazil’s federation has rejected this “Neymar needs rest” explanation from Barcelona, contending that players competing in both the Olympics and Copa America would still have more off days than those competing only in the Euros. ² Yet, Barcelona still holds almost all the leverage in this situation.  Brazil could force Barcelona to release Neymar for the Copa America as it an official FIFA tournament. ³  However, if Brazil were to do that, Barcelona could simply refuse to release him for the Olympics, which are not a FIFA senior tournament (and thus Barcelona is under no obligation to release players for the Olympics). ⁴  The only leverage Neymar holds is his new contract, which is currently under negotiation. Neymar could theoretically negotiate into his contract that he be released for both competitions. Yet there is no guarantee that Barcelona would accept a new contract containing those terms.  There is also the chance that Barcelona asks Neymar to give up so much in other areas of his contract in return for allowing him to play in both tournaments that Neymar rejects such a contract offer. ⁵

If Barcelona holds firm on its one tournament stance, Neymar will almost assuredly choose to play in the Olympics over the Copa America.  Although the Copa America is arguably more prestigious (this year’s even more so due to the centenario) than the Olympics, Brazil has made winning gold in Rio its main priority this summer. Brazil hosts this year’s Olympic games, and the Olympics are the only major competition Brazil has never won, which makes winning Olympic gold even more important. ⁶