Neymar has finally broken his sister's birthday 'curse' by playing for Paris Saint-Germain at the weekend.
The Brazilian had developed a curious "habit" of missing matches due to his younger sister Rafaella's birthday on March 11.
In fact, Neymar came into this year having missed seven of the last eight seasons during Rafaella's big day.
But - that wouldn't be the case this time, as he was part of the lineup against Real Madrid and Bordeaux last week.
Although the 30-year-old would be involved in two tough games and it would probably have been better for him to have celebrated with his sister.
Against Madrid on March 9, Neymar was part of the team that created a two-goal aggregate advantage, only to be eliminated from the Champions League.
And despite scoring against Bordeaux on March 13, the former Barcelona man was booed by his team's fans following their elimination from European competition.
Neymar is traditionally injured or suspended at this time of the year.
In 2014 he was just an unused substitute, although in the following two seasons he was injured before Rafaella's birthday.
During his last year at Barcelona he suffered from a muscle injury. Neymar missed the rest of his first season in Paris with an injury in February 2018, also suffering a similar problem the following season.
In 2020 he returned to action, playing and even scoring against Dortmund in a Champions League match on 11 March.
While last year he missed a PSG match in Ligue 1 due to a muscle problem.
Despite not missing a game, Neymar took to social media to wish Rafaella a happy 26th birthday. /Telegrafi/
