Neymar pays tribute to Kobe Bryant in goal celebration

Neymar paid tribute to NBA legend Kobe Bryant as he celebrated his second goal for Paris Saint-Germain against Lille on Sunday.

Bryant, 41, was killed alongside at least four other people when his helicopter crashed in California on Sunday morning.

Football players and clubs from all over the world expressed their grief following the news of the five-time NBA champion’s passing and Neymar followed up by paying his respects on the field.

The 27-year-old opened the scoring for the Ligue 1 champions with a fine strike 28 minutes into the match at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Then early in the second half, Lille were penalised for a hand ball from left-back Reinildo Mandava and Neymar stepped up to take it.

After converting the spot-kick, the attacker held up two and four fingers on his hands to signalling Bryant’s jersey number, 24, and then clasped his hands together in a praying gesture before pointing to the sky.

“I went to see the messages on social media at half-time, I saw that Kobe is dead. It is a great sadness for the world of sport, and for all of us. Not just for basketball fans, but also for everything he did for the sport,” Neymar told Canal Plus when asked about Bryant after the game.

“I knew him and I did this celebration to pay tribute to him. And I hope he will rest in peace.”

PSG won the encounter 2-0, stretching their lead at the top of the table to 10 points.

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Neymar, who has now scored nine goals in his last seven Ligue 1 games, was delighted with the result and his current form.

“I am very happy, very happy to help the team play this way,” he added. “On the field, I know what to do. I’m 100% and I’m focused on PSG this season and I think we’re going to do great things. I am in my best shape.”

Neymar has now scored 13 goals in 16 games in all competitions this season.