Neymar implies his father did not want him to move to PSG in Instagram video

For his entire career, Neymar’s father has acted as his agent. That means Neymar Sr. was involved when questions popped up about the legality of Jr.’s transfer to Barcelona. And it means he was scapegoated by fans as the bad guy when rumors of Neymar’s exit to Paris Saint-Germain started to pop up.

This week, reports emerged that Neymar Sr. was holding up his son’s move to PSG because he wanted to collect a loyalty bonus after Jr. renewed his contract last year. And when the transfer was made all but official on Wednesday, there was a rush to vilify Neymar Sr. and paint him as a cynical man only interested in using his son’s talent to make as much money as possible for his family.

But if Neymar Jr. is to be believed, that isn’t the case. After his move to PSG was announced on Thursday, Jr. posted a series of Instagram videos thanking Barcelona fans and detailing his reasons for making the move to Paris. They featured a surprise revelation — that Neymar Sr. wasn’t on board with the move to PSG, and that it was all Jr.’s decision.

“I love Barcelona and I love Catalonia, but an athlete needs challenges,” Neymar says in the third of the four videos. “For the 2nd time in my life, I’ll contradict my father. Father, I understand and respect your opinion, but my decision is made and I ask you to support me as you always do.”

Cynical fans might reply that this is exactly what someone would say if they wanted to deflect attention away from stories painting their family members as greedy. But instead of making assumptions about athletes and agents that fit our preferred narratives, perhaps we should put a bit more stock into what the athletes themselves have to say.