Neymar: Mbappé was a little jealous of Messi at PSG. The real reasons why I left Barcelona

2025-01-17 22:45:03Sport SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Neymar and Romario

Neymar held a conversation with Romario, where he spoke about the difficult adaptation and his departure from Barcelona (the 'escape of the century'), about his conversations with Leo Messi at 'Can Barça' and the relationship with Kylian Mbappé at PSG.

"Mbappé is not boring. I had things with him, we had a little fight, but he was decisive for us when he came. I called him 'Golden Boy'. I always played with him, I said he would become one of the best. I always helped him, I talked to him, he came to my house, we had dinner together," the current Al Hilal player explained to 'O Baixinho'.

Mbappé arrived at PSG from Monaco in 2017, the same year that Neymar moved from Barcelona to PSG for one of the biggest transfers in football history (222 million euros).

Neymar revealed on Romario's program Mbappé's alleged jealousy at PSG, after Messi's transfer: "We had a few good years of collaboration, but after Messi came, he (Mbappé) was a little jealous. Then there were some fights, a change in behavior."

Regarding PSG's repeated failures in the Champions League, despite millions of euros in signings, Neymar believes that the French team failed to control and manage the egos of its stars: "It's good to have an ego, but you have to know that you don't play alone. There has to be another guy next to you. There were big egos almost everywhere, it can't work like that. If nobody runs and nobody helps, it's impossible to win anything."

Neymar, who played for Barcelona from 2013 to 2017, told Romario about his difficult start in Spain: "I arrived at Barcelona at the age of 21 or 22, having just won the Confederations Cup against Spain. I didn't feel confident enough to play there. I spent 6 months not being able to dribble past anyone, doing everything wrong."

But a conversation with Messi helped Neymar overcome the pressure and adapt to Barcelona's demands: "One day I was completely depressed, I went to half-time against Athletic very angry, I started crying. Messi knocked on the door and asked me why I was crying. I told him I had nothing. He told me he was there to help me and that I should play the football I played at Santos, without pressure. He said I could rely on him. After that, I started playing with more confidence, more emotion and things started to work," the Brazilian recalled.

Neymar explained the ambitions that led him to leave Barcelona after four great seasons, where he won eight trophies: "My motivation was not to win individual awards... I didn't follow that thought, to be honest. I didn't leave Barça with the idea of ??becoming the best in the world. In my last week at Barcelona, ??Messi asked me: Why are you leaving? Are you going to become the best in the world? I will make you the best in the world. But it wasn't that, there were other personal reasons. Of course, economically at PSG I was much better off than at Barcelona. Then there were Brazilians who played there (Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Daniel Alves and Lucas), they were all my friends. I took a risk, but it wasn't with the idea of ??becoming the best in the world."

Neymar, who does not hide his ambition to try to win the 'Ballon d'Or', admitted that his best moment as a footballer was at PSG: "My peak, my best moment was at PSG. Playing like at PSG, I would definitely win the 'Ballon d'Or'. However, I had a lot of injuries, which penalized me. It is clear that every player wants to win the 'Ballon d'Or', but it is not something that turns my life upside down."

Neymar (32 years old), who is on the radar of several MLS teams, did not rule out the possibility of returning to Brazilian football when his contract with Al Hilal ends.

Video