Neymar misses PSG title celebrations to play poker at Monaco Grand Prix weeks after losing €1million

Neymar missed Paris Saint-Germain's title celebrations to play poker at the Monaco Grand Prix, just weeks after he lost nearly €1 million.

Neymar is known to enjoy playing poker during his time off, regularly live streaming himself taking part in online games.

The Brazilian was spotted at a casino ahead of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix playing a game of poker on Saturday evening at the same time as PSG's title-deciding contest against RC Strasbourg.

The 31-year-old, who has been the subject of mass transfer speculation lately, could be seen out in Monte Carlo at a glitzy casino the day before Sunday's iconic F1 race.

According to The Express, several members of the F1 media were invited to play with the former Barcelona winger, who was the star attraction on the evening.

His presence may come as a surprise after he lost an estimated £880,000 (€1m) playing poker in a tournament in March, where he filmed himself fake crying in an online stream.

But while Neymar was living the high life on the French Riviera, the rest of his teammates were celebrating their 11th Ligue 1 title, following a 1-1 draw with RC Strasbourg.

Lionel Messi put PSG in front around the hour mark before Kevin Gameiro levelled the scores late in the day, but a point was enough to ensure they were crowned champions.

Upon the final whistle the likes of Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Gianluigi Donnarumma could be seen celebrating the title, but Neymar was nowhere to be seen.

Indeed, even Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe were in attendance, despite being ruled out through injury.

However, Neymar, who has been sidelined since February with a an ankle injury, decided he'd rather be elsewhere.

When asked about Neymar's absence in his post-match press conference, PSG boss Christophe Galtier stood by the winger, claiming it was because "he has problems getting around".

"He has problems getting around, but he was present yesterday in the locker room for the last training session," Galtier told reporters. "Don't jump to conclusions. [Hugo] Ekitike was unable to travel due to a health problem."

Regardless of his manager's comments, Neymar's absence will add fuel to speculation that he will leave PSG this summer, with Manchester United allegedly weighing up a move for the player.

Topics: Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1, Football

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno