Neymar penalty spat has calmed down, says Cavani

Caracas (AFP) – Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani has played down his penalty-taking spat with Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Neymar.

Cavani and Brazilian Neymar, the world’s most expensive player, reportedly fell out over penalty-taking duties for PSG in recent league matches.

The despite blew up a couple of weeks ago when Cavani, PSG’s regular penalty-taker, refused to let Neymar take a spot-kick against Lyon, only to then miss.

But then at the weekend, and after rumours Cavani had been offered a million euros to cede penalty duties to his higher-profile team-mate, Neymar took, and scored, a spot-kick against Bordeaux.

“These things happen in football. These are things that are sometimes blown up,” Cavani, speaking to reporters in Caracas ahead of a World Cup qualifier against Venezuela on Thursday, said on Monday.

“We all know that they become bigger than they are. They are sorted out in the dressing room. Every (problem) has a solution. It’s calmed down.”

Despite giving up spot-kick duties, which Cavani took over when Zlatan Ibrahimovic left PSG a year and a half ago, the Uruguayan has still outscored his Brazilian team-mate eight goals to six in France’s Ligue 1.