Barcelona Star Nelson Semedo Spills the Beans on Training Ground Bust-Up With Neymar

At the zenith of the transfer rumour mill; when the "Will he? Won't he?" questions loomed largest and when the biggest transfer in the history of football was materialising, the player at the heart of a projected £199m move - Neymar - was involved in a heated training bust-up with one of Barcelona's summer signings, Nelson Semedo. 

The incident, in which Neymar angrily reacted to a challenge from Semedo during a pre-season training session in the USA, proved to be one of the final acts in the Brazilian's Barca career and an explicit visual indication that Neymar's time in Catalonia was coming to an end. 

Speaking to  Sport, Nelson Semedo stated that he sympathises with Neymar as the incident occurred at a "difficult" time for superstar:

"It annoyed me at the time but I also understood he was in a difficult moment, he wanted to leave. I had no idea that Neymar would go, but the rest of the dressing room expected it. I didn't imagine in that time that he would leave Barcelona for PSG. It surprised me, like the rest of the fans who were shocked. He was an important player for the team and very loved."

Nelson Semedo also explained that the bust-up did not have an effect on him, as he had the support of his teammates, but hinted at the fact that it potentially "influenced" his strong start to life at Barcelona: 

"Personally it didn't affect me because I had the support of the team and my friends, but it obviously influenced me. I just arrived and one of the most important players in the team got in a fight with me."

Since his £26m move from Benfica the 24-year-old has become an integral part of Ernesto Valverde's starting XI, impressing the Catalonian faithful with his offensive prowess.