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Cavani on Neymar penalty controversy: Emery was to blame

  /  autty

Paris Saint-Germain experienced one of their most tense and controversial moments of their modern era in 2017 as Neymar and Edinson Cavani publicly argued on the pitch.

It came in a fixture against Olympique Lyonnais as both aforementioned players wanted to take a penalty.

"[Unai] Emery was to blame for that moment, without criticising anyone, it's something that should be made clear," he told ESPN.

"When it happened I told Neymar 'I'm the one who takes penalties' and then there was an exchange of words.

"Then, in the dressing room I told him what I thought.

"After that, Emery said that Ney was going to take penalties and I asked him why. I said that a year ago we had agreed it like that with him, and he told me I was going against him.

"In the end I said 'Don't worry, let Neymar take them'."

The former Napoli centre-forward also reflected on another of his lowest moments in football, the famous comeback of Barcelona at Camp Nou earlier that year.

"That game affected me a lot, it was a terrible game because nobody expected it to happen and I started not being able to sleep," he remembered.

"I spent nights reading at home and I began to worry because the nights were going by and I could never sleep.

"It would get to 8.30am and then I would sleep but, of course, I would have to go and train.

"I spoke to the doctors and they calmed me, they gave me a pill and bit by bit I started sleeping again."

Cavani remains in Paris where he leads the line alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, winning Ligue 1 this season.