Alves on Forlan criticism: 'Shut your trap'

Published on: 22 September 2017

Dani Alves has told Diego Forlan to "shut your trap" after the former Uruguay international criticised the Paris Saint-Germain right-back over his part in the set-piece dispute between Neymar and Edinson Cavani.

Neymar and Cavani had a disagreement over a second-half free kick in PSG's 2-0 win over Lyon on Sunday, with Alves seemingly taking the ball off Cavani and handing it to his fellow Brazilian Neymar. The duo also argued over who should take a later penalty, which Cavani went on to miss.

That led Forlan to come out in defence of his Uruguayan compatriot Cavani, with the former Manchester United man telling Radio Sport 890: "What doesn't make any sense is what Alves does, he doesn't give the ball to Cavani and then gives it to Neymar as if he were his b----.

"Cavani deserves respect. He has been scoring goals for years, taking penalties. There has to be respect. Neymar would not have done that with [Lionel] Messi. He didn't want Cavani to take the penalty. He was like a little boy annoying him."

Alves then took to Twitter to offer a response to Forlan, while also saying that the penalty that Neymar and Cavani argued over should have been his.

He wrote: "I don't know what match you were watching, but for your information, I didn't take the ball away from any of my teammates. It was just the opposite, it was taken from me!

Alves added: "And also for your information, the last penalty kick for PSG was mine. So shut your trap and stop making drama in my name."

Alves was reported to have organised a dinner earlier this week that was attended by both Neymar and Cavani -- something that pleased PSG boss Unai Emery.

"I like that the players dine together," Emery told a news conference. "I am happy because it is good for the players to be together outside of matches and to speak together. They have trained well this week. I think that it was a good thing."

There were also reports that Neymar and Cavani argued in the dressing room after the win over Lyon, though Emery played down talk of a rift existing between the two.

"They are both competitive players and they want the best for the team," he said. "I insist that there is a good relationship there. There may have been some conversations during the match but there is harmony between them. In the end, what we want is to find the best individual and collective relationships."

Neymar Cavani squabble vs Lyon 170917 Getty Images

Emery had said after the Lyon clash that Neymar and Cavani would need to sort out between themselves who should take any future penalties.

The PSG boss has backtracked on those comments, saying he will decide, though he refused to reveal who he has chosen.

"Edinson and Neymar will take the penalties. Who is the first kicker? Who is the second? I will take that decision," he said. "I spoke with both of them before the match and this week -- individually and collectively. Both players must take responsibility, they are capable of that.

"The most important thing is that the penalties get scored. To know who will take the first or the second penalty, I have already spoken with the players. We will wait and see if we get a penalty this weekend."

ESPN FC's Paris Saint-Germain correspondent Jonathan Johnson contributed to this report.

Source: espn.co.uk

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