Neymar shocked world football when he completed a record-breaking £200m move from Barcelona to PSG in 2017, and now the Brazilian has revealed exactly why he did it.
While the public perception believed that Neymar left Barcelona to move out of Lionel Messi‘s shadow in an attempt to become the best player in the world and potentially win the Ballon d’Or, the 32-year-old has set the record straight.
Speaking on Brazil legend Romario’s new podcast, Neymar highlighted that playing with fellow countrymen in the French capital influenced his decision most, despite Paulinho, Philippe Coutinho and Rafinha all being at Camp Nou.
Neymar wanted to play with more Brazilians at PSG
“I didn’t leave Barca to be the best in the world at PSG,” Neymar said. “Messi asked, ‘Why are you leaving? Do you want to be the best player in the world? I can make you the best player in the world.’ I told him, ‘No, it’s not that, it’s something personal.’
“Obviously financially, it was better than what I had at Barcelona and there were Brazilians there too. I just wanted to play with the Brazilians. There was Thiago Silva, Dani Alves just signed, Marquinhos, Lucas Moura. They were all my friends.”
Upon arriving at PSG, Neymar linked up with Kylian Mbappe for the first time. The pair had a strained relationship at times, though both were fierce competitors who just wanted to win. For Neymar, that ultimately worked against them in the long-run.
“Mbappe was not annoying,” Neymar said, “I had my things with him, we had a little fight. He was a boy that in the beginning was key, I used to call him ‘Golden Boy.’ I spoke to him, played around with him, told him he’d be one of the best. I always help, always had conversations with him.
“When Messi arrived, he became a little jealous. He didn’t want to share me with anyone and that’s how the fights started, the change in behaviour…
“What went wrong at PSG? Ego. Ego. I think having an ego is good, thinking you’re the best, but you have realise to not play by yourself. Nowadays if not everyone helps, it’s impossible to win something… Saudi Arabia surprised me. The possibility of me staying in Saudi after my contract exists. Let’s see because in six months a lot can change.”
