I’m not Di Marzio — I am Marcelo Bechler

Reporter who told first the story about Neymar leaving Barcelona to PSG writes about how he discovered the scoop that started a football madness

Por Marcelo Bechler

From then, 22 days passed, and it’s not over yet. What turned a mission since July 18 will end only when Neymar start a match with the PSG shirt. Sincerely, I hope it is soon.

Three whole weeks without a break, it will be four until the match coverage for PSG-Guingamp. I am mentally and physically exausted, but I also learned a lot, and this work may have reopened a discussion about journalism. I can say that it is worth it. The part that has been defeated has now 222 million euros in their bank account. It was good for everyone.

Everything started on July 17, a Monday, when I received the information that Neymar was unsatisfied in Barcelona. I didn’t read the ChuteiraFC story about how PSG was only waiting the green light from Neymar to start the taskforce. In any case, some messages sent on Monday had the same tone: “Neymar won’t move before the World Cup”. One of those messages had two blue ticks and no answer. Until that night.

On the other side of the line, the conversation started with a question: “Do you think the TV will send you to Paris?”. I choked something and the voice went on: “Yes, that’s right. It’s done”. And then started talking. The whole story. How Neymar wanted a team around him, how he trusts the brazilian players from PSG, the pressure around the Barcelona directives, the great wages he would find there. I remembered him that was 11 p.m on Spain and I had to discuss with the TV channel (Esporte Interativo) how we would handle this subject.

We decided to find more information. On Tuesday, July 18, contacts on Spain and France. The same story, told over other points of view, with more or less details. We had four sources, and they all told that Neymar wanted to play for PSG and the negotiations were advanced.

We didn’t told everything we knew. Protected the sources, hiding some informations. Moments before I was on air, on TV, I remembered something that they had told me:

“If you want, you can say that he is leaving. You will suffer for 15 days, because they will deny, but believe me: it’s done”.

With that frase, I said “Good Morning” on live TV and told the story. The football world was set on fire immediately. Fourteen interviews on the first day, more than 40 until now. I won’t be surprised if that goes over 60. From an university radio, going through a small São Paulo state jornal until the CNN, with the dream of speaking with José Trajano (former ESPN Brasil director) and being congratulated for Tino Marcos (Globo TV reporter). Also, criticism and offenses from thousands.

Yes. Thousands. On private messages, Facebook page comments, my Instagram profile. I didn’t count the number of offensive tweets, or that discredited the information. It was really hard to believe. But being called a liar, bad journalist, unemployed or a farce was a bit much.

Just like today they call me a myth, a fortune teller or the best of the world. They ask me about information over Coutinho, Dembelé, Dybala, Bale. They think that basically I can inform them about everything that moves. Of course it’s better than the offenses, and is a recognition over my work, but I’m not Gianluca Di Marzio (that italian journalist that speaks about transfers and usually goes well).

The coverage started with the information that Neymar said “yes” to PSG, and why he was moving to France, on July 18. We went forward with the players from the Paris’ team, the PSG tactics to pay the contract termination penalty, why Neymar was silent in China — the business commitments he had with FC Barcelona — the agent’s commission, the lawyers in Barcelona.

I went to Neymar’s office over a week, every afternoon between 4 p.m and 7 p.m. I called the fancy hotel in Barcelona looking for intermediates that were on town. Monitoring WhatsApp and the last status online over people that said they were in Brazil, but were online at 12:30 a.m in Barcelona time and, after, at 9:25 a.m, also in Barcelona time. I slept with my phone next to me, with alarms over 30 minutes, in that whole week, noting that the person on the other side was in Europe all these days.

At the same time, six live broadcasts all day, some at 5 a.m, after a Brazilian football match in a less absurd time. I bought a giant pizza to feed me over three days, because I knew that I would not have time to buy groceries in the supermarket or cook anything.

Someday, I downloaded Candy Crush on my phone. Was late at night, I had to wait a message because I had to answer it on the right time. On Twitter, my timeline only spoke about Neymar, on Instagram I was offended, on Spanish TV Neymar was the main subject, on Facebook, guess what…on Facebook I had Bolsonaro (Brazilian pre-candidate for the presidential election). I went back to the Instagram offenses. Turn on the videogame and played FIFA. Neymar. Gave up. I regretted watching House of Cards on the week before. On Candy Crush, almost came on the stage 300 in one day. The message came, I answered, the source answered again, the night became dawn, and sleeping was impossible.

Piqué posted that Neymar would stay and it looked somewhat official. Hours before, the negotiation had advanced in Paris, they told me. That was the Candy Crush night.

The physical and mental wear were and are still present. I spent my birthday alone in Paris, in some restaurant, thinking about how none of those Paris people wanted more than me the Neymar debut.

Many people didn’t know me before all that. I am 31, moved to Barcelona three years ago. Worked on Rádio Inconfidência, TV Horizonte, Rádio Globo and CBN in Belo Horizonte, Rádio Globo in São Paulo, Sportv, Estado de Minas. Today I’m on Esporte Interativo, Itatiaia, Rádio Mix and Lance. Eleven years on journalism, but I know I’m starting.



I’m not Di Marzio, but I am Marcelo Bechler. If you don’t know me, nice to meet you.