Neymar has revealed details about his historic transfer from FC Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain, and what Lionel Messi promised him to try to get him to stay there.
Speaking to Romario on the retired Brazil and Barcelona legend’s podcast, Neymar told the story: “Messi came to me and said… why are you leaving? Do you want to be the best in the world? I’m going to make you the best in the world.
At the time, rumors were that Neymar was tired of playing second fiddle to Messi and felt he needed to leave Barcelona to get the recognition (and Ballon d’Or) he deserves. will be.
Messi, who has been as much a facilitator and playmaker as he has been a finisher, should have played a different role.
“I told him, ‘No, it’s not. There’s a lot of stuff in it, it’s more personal than that.'”
“Obviously, financially speaking it was much better than what I had at Barcelona.”
“But, there were also a group of Brazilians in Paris like Thiago Silva, Dani Alves, who had just signed there, Marquinhos and Lucas Moura. They are all my friends. I wanted to play with them, so I decided to take advantage of this opportunity.
“But I didn’t leave Barcelona thinking I was going to become the best player in the world. No, that was not the case.”
In the end, the move resulted in Neymar not winning the Ballon d’Or or the UEFA Champions LeagueAt the same time, since his departure, Barcelona has not won Europe’s top competition.