Neymar reveals how Lionel Messi tried to stop his departure from Barcelona in 2017

In a candid chat with former Barcelona and Brazil star Romario, Neymar spoke about many things from his iconic football career.

The former Barcelona superstar, who is currently plying his trade in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal, explained why he chose to sign for Barcelona instead of Real Madrid and also shed light on how Lionel Messi helped him through a difficult period at the beginning of his career at the club. .

Neymar explains PSG’s transfer decision

Not only that, Neymar has also revealed the motivations for his transfer to PSG from Barcelona in the summer of 2017 and how Messi himself tried to convince him not to continue.

Over the years, much has been said about the Brazilian’s decision to leave Barça for PSG, with many stating that his main motivation was to get out of Messi’s shadow and become the best player in the world.

However, Neymar refutes those claims and says (h/t Fabrizio Romano): “I didn’t leave Barça to be the best in the world at PSG.”

When explaining Messi’s intervention, he added: “Messi told me: ‘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, economically it was better than what I had in Barcelona… and there were Brazilians there too.” Neymar said.

“I wanted to play with the Brazilians. There was Thiago Silva, recently signed Dani Alves, Marquinhos, Lucas Moura. “They were all my friends.”

Neymar left Barcelona in 2017, after four years at the club, and signed for PSG in a world record transfer worth €222 million.

However, things did not always go as planned for the Brazilian icon in the French capital and, despite the Parisians putting together a “super team” at the Parc des Princes, they did not reach the expected heights.

Explaining what went wrong for him at PSG, Neymar added: “What went wrong at PSG? Ego. Ego. I think having an ego is good, thinking you’re the best… but you have to realize that you shouldn’t play alone.

“Nowadays, if everyone doesn’t help, it’s impossible to win anything.”