Report: PSG's Neymar, Donnarumma clash after deflating UCL loss
Things got heated between Paris Saint-Germain teammates Neymar and Gianluigi Donnarumma in the aftermath of Wednesday’s crushing Champions League defeat against Real Madrid.
The stars blamed each other for the club’s round-of-16 exit during an intense altercation in the dressing room, causing PSG teammates to intervene, according to ESPN’s Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez.
Neymar is understood to have confronted Donnarumma because the goalkeeper allowed himself to be closed down by Karim Benzema in his own box as he tried to clear the ball. That blunder resulted in Benzema scoring in the 61st minute to cancel out Kylian Mbappe’s opening goal and slash PSG’s aggregate lead in half.
Donnarumma reportedly responded by highlighting the Brazilian’s costly giveaway to Luka Modric in the buildup to Benzema’s 76th-minute strike to make it 2-2 on aggregate.
Benzema completed his hat-trick two minutes later to lift Real Madrid into the quarterfinals and relegate PSG to another early Champions League departure.
Emotions were also running high in the PSG presidential box, as Nasser Al-Khelaifi and sporting director Leonardo apparently tried to confront Dutch referee Danny Makkelie after the match. The two believed Benzema fouled Donnarumma before scoring his first goal. They eventually began banging on the door to the referee’s room before security stepped in.