Neymar has apologised to his Santos team-mate Robinho Jr after slapping the teenager during a training session on Sunday, acknowledging that he had overstepped the mark. The BBC reported the incident and the subsequent apology, with Neymar quoted as saying he had "crossed the line".
Robinho Jr is the son of the former Manchester City and Brazil forward Robinho, according to FourFourTwo, which first reported details of the clash. The altercation took place during a Santos training session, though the precise circumstances that led to the incident have not been detailed in either account.
Neymar returned to Santos, the Brazilian club where he began his professional career, earlier this year after spells at Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Al Hilal. His return to the Urbano Caldeira was widely received as a sentimental homecoming, and the club have leaned into the narrative of a native son completing a full circle. An incident of this kind, however minor in a strictly physical sense, is an unwelcome complication to that story.
Robinho Jr, as the son of a prominent former professional, carries a degree of public visibility unusual for a teenage squad member. That context is likely to have amplified the attention the incident received, both within Brazilian football and internationally. Neither Santos nor anyone connected to Robinho Jr has been quoted responding to the apology.
Whether the matter is considered closed by those involved remains unclear. Neymar's willingness to apologise publicly suggests an awareness that the episode required more than a private resolution, though neither wire report indicates any formal disciplinary process has been initiated by the club or by football authorities.