Neymar has opened up on the ego wars during his time at PSG and claimed that Kylian Mbappe was ‘jealous’ of Lionel Messi.
Neymar, 32, is viewed as one of the greatest footballers of his generation, with the Brazilian the all-time record goalscorer for his country.
After breaking through at Santos in his homeland, he made his name at Barcelona before the forward joined PSG for a world record £200million fee in 2017.
However, while the Parisians regularly won Ligue 1 and domestic trophies in France, they were never able to get over the line in the Champions League, with Neymar’s time at the club marred by several chastening European exits.
And, speaking on a podcast hosted by Brazil World Cup winner Romario, Neymar opened up on life at PSG and the divides within their front three once Messi joined.
Neymar has claimed Kylian Mbappe was ‘jealous’ of Lionel Messi during their time at PSG
Neymar joined PSG in 2017 in the same summer as Mbappe, before Messi arrived in 2021
The Brazilian, who is his country’s all-time top goalscorer, opened up on the ego wars at PSG
‘No, he (Mbappe) is not (annoying),’ he said. ‘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.
‘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.’
Neymar, who now plays for Saudi side Al-Hilal, scored 118 goals and added 77 assists in 173 games for PSG.
However, during his latter years at the club, the Brazilian’s relationship with Mbappe was thrown into the spotlight.
Reports in the media claimed the two stars had developed a feud, while a Ligue 1 clash against Montpellier in August 2022 saw the pair clash over who would take a penalty.
Neymar claimed there was a ‘change in behaviour’ in Mbappe after Messi arrived at the club
Neymar also hinted there were too many ‘big egos’ for PSG to have success in Europe
PSG’s 2021-22 wage bill was at the time much higher than any other ever seen in football
Meanwhile, PSG were desperate to win the Champions League with Mbappe and Neymar, with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi later claiming it was an ‘obsession’, but the French giants repeatedly fell short.
They regularly crashed out in crunch knockout games, including at the last-16 stage by Real Madrid and Bayern Munich when the club’s attack consisted of Messi, Mbappe and Neymar.
During that time, the three stars were reportedly on a cumulative £3.25m-a-week, while several other players like Sergio Ramos, Marco Verratti and Gianluigi Donnarumma were also on astronomical wages.
And, reflecting on those European frustrations, Neymar hinted that there were almost too many ‘big egos’ inside the dressing room to get through the tough moments in those big games.
‘It is good to have egos,’ the Brazilian added. ‘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.
‘If nobody runs and nobody helps, it is impossible to win anything.’
