In an interview with Sky Sports in Germany, Xavi Simons commented on his relationship with former Paris-Saint Germain teammate Neymar Jr. when the duo played together in the French capital. The RB Leipzig loanee was asked about his role models in an interview with Sky Germany’s Philipp Hinze.
In response to being asked about his role models and playing with Neymar, the Dutchman said: “He already knew me from Barcelona and was like a father to me. I will be eternally grateful to him for that. It was a big dream to play with my idol and he’s still an important person for me“. Neymar and Simons spent time together in Barcelona when the Dutch international was a La Masia graduate.
Simons also added, “It’s not easy to come into a big team as a young player, with your idols and great stars and Neymar has taken on this role as a father. I am very grateful to him for that”.
The former Barcelona academy graduate left PSG in search of regular minutes last season before resigning with the Ligue 1 Champions due to a €6m buyback clause which was inserted at the time of his move to PSV. Simons has since been loaned out to RB Leipzig and has impressed for the Red Bull outfit scoring 3 goals and assisting a further 4 in his time at the Red Bull Arena thus far.