Why the Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro Should Be on Everyone's Bucket List

Among football fans in Europe, there is a kind of in-joke – or perhaps even conspiracy theory – about Brazilian players. It surmises that many of the Brazilians who play for Europe’s best teams tend to get ‘injured’ in and around the beginning of Lent each year. Some even point to a propensity for Brazilian players to pick up suspensions around this time of year. Some of the world’s best players, including Neymar Jnr, have been tagged with this joke-come-conspiracy. In Neymar’s case, the forward was either injured or suspended for six years running around the beginning of Lent.