Neymar blasts makeshift Iranian pitch Al-Hilal will play on and insists ‘this is not possible’ as the Brazilian fumes at patches of grass being laid by hand on concrete surface
- Neymar has criticised a makeshift pitch Al-Hilal are set to play on this week
- The Brazilian was shocked after seeing patches of grass being laid by hand
- Click HERE to listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s ‘It’s All Kicking Off’
Neymar was left in disbelief after seeing footage that appears to show an incomplete pitch being finished by hand ahead of Al-Hilal’s Asian Champions League clash in Iran on Tuesday.
The Brazilian is the figurehead of the Saudi Pro League leaders after completing a £78m move to the Middle East from French side PSG during the summer.
His time in Saudi Arabia has so far been disrupted through injury, but he has made consecutive league starts in an Al-Hilal team dominated by big names with Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves and Aleksandar Mitrovic also joining.
Al-Hilal travel to Iranian side Nassaji Mazandaran for their second Asian Champions League group stage game on Tuesday, but the Brazilian isn’t impressed with the pitch ahead of the fixture.
Footage on social media shows workers inside the Azadi Stadium making last-minute adjustments as they attempt to fill in empty patches on the pitch.
Neymar has blasted a makeshift Iranian pitch Al-Hilal are set to play on in the Asian Champions League
Video footage shows patches of grass being laid on concrete at the Azadi Stadium in Iran
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Individuals dressed in casual clothing can be seen grabbing squares of turf and placing it down on what appears to be a bed of concrete.
Neymar was left in a state of disbelief after seeing the scenes and responded on X – formerly Twitter – stating: ‘This is not possible’ alongside facepalm and laughing emojis.
The grass being put down looks very thin sitting on top of the concrete while a man stood nearby begins to try and smooth out the underneath ground for more patches to be laid.
Neymar published a post that read ‘this is not possible’ underneath the video footage
The video pans around the stadium to show a pitch that wouldn’t look out of place in Sunday league as rushed preparations are made to make sure the game can go ahead as planned.
Al-Hilal are the most successful team in the cup competition having lifted the title four times to become the most successful team in the AFC Champions League.
Their last trophy in the competition came two-years ago and Neymar is hoping to help guide the club to another title and improve after a difficult start to his Al-Hilal career.
Neymar is yet to score in the Saudi Pro League and has been rumoured to have a strained relationship with Al-Hilal head coach Jorge Jesus.
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