Neymar claims Messi and he had experienced ‘hell’ at PSG

Having left Paris Saint-Germain for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal this summer after six years in the French capital, Neymar notably takes a critical look back on his time with the Ligue 1 side in an interview with O Globo.

The 31-year-old, who scored 118 goals across his 173 appearances with PSG, explained that he was happy that Lionel Messi had won the World Cup, but that he and seven-time Ballon d’Or winner had also “lived through hell” during their time with Les Parisiens.

“I was very happy for the year he had, but at the same time very sad, because he lived both sides of the coin, he went to heaven with the Argentina team, won everything in recent years, and with Paris he lived hell. We lived through hell, both he and I.

“We’re upset, because we’re not there for nothing, we’re there to do our best, to be champions, to try to make history, that’s why we got back together, we got together there so that we could make history. Unfortunately, we didn’t succeed.”

Neymar also explains that he believes his former Barcelona teammate was treated “unfairly” and did not “deserve” to leave Paris in the manner that he did – on a free transfer, before joining Inter Miami in the MLS.

The Argentine World Cup hero would win the Ligue 1 title twice in as many seasons with the club after leaving Barcelona, but was unable to reverse the team’s fortunes on the European stage. 

Neymar, who was injured for much of the season after undergoing reconstructive ankle surgery, was notably the target of the ultras’ ire during protests back in May, which saw a group of fans show up to his house demanding that he leave the club.