'He Was A Little Jealous': Neymar Opens Up On Why Relations Crumbled At PSG With Kylian Mbappe

Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr has had his fair share of playing with the biggest names in world football, him being one himself. Neymar played for French club Paris Saint Germain for six seasons, but his time at the club is a mixed bag of emotions. Neymar formed a great partnership with French striker and World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe during his time at PSG but the relationship started to go sour over the course of the six seasons, Neymar played for the club. 

Neymar Opens Up On Kylian Mbappe

Striker Neymar said his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappé became “a little jealous” after superstar Lionel Messi joined the French club in August 2021 in a free transfer.

Speaking in a podcast hosted by World Cup winner Romário released Thursday, the 32-year-old Brazilian who plays for Saudi club Al-Hilal added that big egos affected the performances of PSG in big matches.

Neymar made his comments after Romário asked whether Mbappé, who joined Real Madrid this season, “is annoying.”

“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 Reveals Kylian Mbappe Was Jealous Of Lionel Messi

“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 player added.

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Mbappé joined PSG from Monaco in 2017, the same year Neymar moved from Barcelona to the French club in one of the biggest transfers in soccer history. 

Both were signed as the club sought its maiden Champions League title, which it is yet to win. Neymar said the team often struggled due to big egos, but didn’t name anyone.

“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.” 

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Neymar didn’t rule out returning to Brazil after his contract in Saudi Arabia expires in the middle of the year.

Neither Mbappé nor Messi have reacted to Neymar’s comments. 

(With AP Inputs)