RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 17: Neymar of Brazil in action during the Men's Semifinal Football match between Brazil and Honduras at Maracana Stadium on Day 12 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Neymar helped lead Brazil to its first-ever Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, but the national team’s captain doesn’t have to return to his club team, Barcelona, just yet.
New Brazil coach Tite included him on the the 23-man roster for World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Colombia, so Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has allowed the 24-year-old to stay in Brazil instead of returning for the match against Atletico Bilbao this weekend.
Neymar scored the winning penalty– along with Brazil’s lone goal in regulation–against Germany in Saturday’s Olympic final shootout, and had been expected back in training on Wednesday.
Barcelona’s second league game of the new season against Atletico on Sunday is followed by the first round of international matchups for the 2018 World Cup qualification.
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Luis Enrique, therefore, has decided it is best to allow the former Santos forward to remain in his homeland in order to avoid an excess of flights between South America and Europe.
Instead, he will return to Catalonia ahead of the home game against Alaves at Camp Nou on Sep. 10.
Meanwhile, Brazilian midfielder Rafinha, who also played in Saturday’s Olympic final, will return to training with Barca this week, having not been selected for the qualifying matches.
Brazil face Ecuador on September 1 and then Colombia on September 6 in World Cup qualifiers.
After Brazil’s historic gold medal victory, Neymar stepped down as captain of the national team.
“It was an honor to be captain, but from today I stop being captain,” he said. “I will send a message to [senior coach] Tite that, from now, he can look for another captain.”
Former Brazil manager Dunga named Neymar captain in September 2014.
Neymar has previously been investigated for tax evasion.
Barcelona started their league season with a 6-2 win over Real Betis on Saturday, with Luis Suarez netting a hat-trick in the victory.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 17: Neymar of Brazil in action during the Men’s Semifinal Football match between Brazil and Honduras at Maracana Stadium on Day 12 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 17, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
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