Neymar allegedly admitted to teammates how much of a nightmare playing alongside Kylian Mbappe was, suggesting that Liverpool would have been better off passing on the French sensation.
The Brazilian sensation Neymar is said to have informed his fellow international Kylian Mbappe that he is a nightmare to work with.
During the summer of 2017, Paris Saint-Germain made headlines around the world of football when they acquired Neymar from Barcelona and Mbappe, who had just finished at the age of eighteen, helping Monaco win the Ligue 1 championship. Together, the Parisians spent an incredible $458 million (€222 million/£198 million for Neymar and $195.4 million/£166 million for Mbappe) on the two players, who enabled PSG to win five titles when they were together.
But in the summer of 2023, PSG decided to give Neymar away to Al-Hilal of the Saudi Pro League for $98.6 million (£86.3 million) because the attempt to field the Brazilian, Lionel Messi, and Mbappe—who Liverpool reportedly considered signing in 2022—on the same team proved fruitless in winning the Champions League.
They allowed Messi to leave Paris when his contract expired and join David Beckham’s Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer, leaving Mbappe as the only survivor of the three. Neymar was allowed to move to Saudi Arabia.
After spending one more season with PSG, the Frenchman left to sign with Real Madrid this past summer. It was then that he became friends with Eder Militao, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and other Brazilian teammates of Neymar.
But even if Mbappe and Real Madrid seem to be a wonderful combination on paper, Neymar reportedly told his international teammates that it was difficult to work with the captain of France. Journalist Cyril Hanouna asserted on Europe 1 that the Al-Hilal star wrote “the Brazilians” a note expressing how “catastrophic” their experience at PSG was.
“The Brazilians [at Real Madrid] are friends with Neymar,” stated Hanouna. “Neymar and Mbappe have always been at odds with one another. In a paper on Mbappe, Neymar informed the Brazilians that the situation was disastrous and terrible.
Mbappe had previously called his friendship with Neymar “hot and cold.” Back in September 2022, Mbappe stated, “We have always had a relationship based on respect, but we’ve always had hotter and colder moments.”
As you can see, there are times when we are the world’s best friends and times when we don’t talk as much. There is a great deal of respect, but that’s just the nature of our connection. Regarding him as a player, his significance to our club, and what he stands for, I have the utmost respect. Life isn’t linear when you have two players with such strong personalities.”
There has been a lot of discussion lately over Liverpool’s attempt to get Mbappe in 2022 when it appeared that he was prepared to leave PSG, only for him to ultimately sign a regrettable two-year deal. According to reports, the Reds made a bid of $220 million (£168 million) for Mbappe, who would have joined the team when personal terms were settled upon.
PSG, however, felt the price was too low and quoted Liverpool as having doubled their original offer, which made the Reds back out. If Neymar’s description of Mbappe’s work environment is accurate, Liverpool might have avoided a major transfer disaster.