Thursday 21 April 2016 16:01, UK
Guillem Balague says the decision for Neymar to play for Brazil in the Olympics rather than Copa America gives him a much-needed rest.
Barcelona announced on Wednesday night that the Brazil captain will play at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics for his country but will skip the Copa America, despite previously stating he wanted to play in both.
The Brazilian FA had asked for his release, but Barcelona did not want to lose the striker for so long and feared that his participation in both events could affect his preparations for next season.
The confederation and the club had been in talks for several months before finally reaching a deal, and Sky Sports' Spanish football expert Balague believes the move is good PR for the Brazilian forward at present.
"The reaction in Barcelona is that most people believed Neymar was not going to rest enough. We've seen Neymar take some trips to Brazil, not just to do with football, and there's a lot of negative publicity in the direction of Neymar, so this is a good PR for himself in the eyes of the fans.
"I think most fans understand he needs to rest, as rest is as important for an athlete than preparation.
"In contrast, in Brazil there are more and more voices saying he is not a mature leader and is not pulling all of his weight when it comes to the national side.
"It's not a Brazilian decision, Brazil want him playing everything, it's more the decision of Barcelona. Neymar of course wanted to play everything, but Barcelona made him realise he had to make a choice.
"It is a different kind of summer with Olympics and Copa America - I think Barcelona have used the timing cleverly, it's a good moment to confirm publicly what they have been defending for months."
Clubs are not obliged by FIFA to release players for the Olympics, but had to do so for the Copa America Centenario in the United States, but a deal has been struck to ensure Neymar is exempt.
Neymar has come under criticism from fans and the media of late as Barcelona slumped to just one point from a possible 12 and were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid.
They reacted with an 8-0 win at Deportivo on Wednesday, leaving them level on points with Atletico at the top of the table but with a better head-to-head record.
Balague believes the 24-year-old will need the summer to recover from another busy season, and also says this is not the first time the club has been successful over the country in such a discussion.
"Clubs have always had the power to stop players playing," Balague added. "I remember when Pep Guardiola arrived at Barcelona, Lionel Messi wanted to play the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and Barca managed to convince the authorities that he wouldn't play.
"Then after that it became the choice of Pep, who said to Messi and [then-president] Joan Laporta that he should go to China, because it was the best thing that could happen to him.
"Messi was saying he wanted an Olympic medal, because it is something unique. He let him go that way, Argentina won the gold, but Barcelona had initially won the right not to let him go, so it's not the first time thing has happened."
The Olympics will be played from August 3-21, while the Copa America runs from June 3-26
