NEW DELHI: Brazilian football star Neymar jr recently shared his perspective on the dynamics within the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) team during his time there.
In a podcast hosted by Romário, a Brazilian World Cup winner, Neymar discussed the impact of Lionel Messi’s arrival at the club in August 2021.
According to Neymar, his former teammate Kylian Mbappé became “a little jealous” after Messi joined the team.
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Neymar suggested that Mbappé, who has since joined Real Madrid, didn’t want to share the spotlight with anyone else, leading to some conflicts and a change in behaviour.
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“No, he is not. I have my things with him, we had a little fight, but he was fundamental for us when he arrived. I used to call him golden boy. I always played with him, said he was going to be one of the best. I always helped, talked to him, he came to my place, we had dinner together,” Neymar said.
Neymar acknowledged that he had a good partnership with Mbappé initially, referring to him as the “golden boy” and praising his potential to become one of the best players.
“We had some good years of partnership, but after Messi came he was a little jealous. He didn’t want to split me with anyone. And then there were some fights, a change in behavior,” the Brazilian further added.
While Neymar didn’t explicitly name individuals, he mentioned that big egos within the team often hindered their performances in crucial matches.
“It is good to have egos, but you have to know that you don’t play alone. There needs to be another guy by your side. (Big) egos were almost everywhere, it can’t work,” Neymar said. “If nobody runs and nobody helps, it is impossible to win anything.”
Neymar also reflected on the possibility of returning to Brazil after his contract with Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia expires later this year.
It’s worth noting that neither Mbappé nor Messi has responded to Neymar’s comments as of now.