Neymar says he 'lived through hell' with Messi at Paris Saint-Germain

Neymar claims he and Lionel Messi “lived through hell” during their time together at Paris Saint-Germain.

“I was very happy for the year he had, but at the same time very sad because he lived both sides of the coin,” Neymar told Globo’s Esporte Espetacular of the last of Messi’s two seasons with PSG, as translated by ESPN’s Adriana Garcia.

“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.”

Messi and Neymar both left the French capital this summer. The Argentine attacker moved to Inter Miami, where he’s helped the struggling club resurrect its Major League Soccer campaign, win the Leagues Cup, and reach the final of the U.S. Open Cup on Sept. 27. Neymar chased the riches of the Saudi Pro League after PSG approved his €90-million transfer to Al-Hilal.

Neymar’s interview for the Esporte Espetacular aired Sunday but was originally conducted in June, shortly after PSG’s 2022-23 campaign concluded with another Ligue 1 title but disappointing round-of-16 exits in the Champions League and Coupe de France.

The previous season – the first of Messi’s stay with PSG – ended in identical fashion: a Ligue 1 crown and last-16 eliminations from the Champions League and Coupe de France.

The Qatari owners’ target of European glory with a frontline of Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe never materialized. Meanwhile, Messi’s international assignments were much more fruitful between the summer of his move to PSG and his recent switch to the United States as Argentina won the Copa America, 2022 World Cup, and the lesser-known Finalissima.

Since moving to Inter Miami, Messi revealed he never wanted to join PSG and said there was a “fracture with a significant group” of the club’s supporters during his two years representing Les Parisiens.

Neymar, who partnered with Messi and Luis Suarez during a successful period at Barcelona, felt the level of criticism he and Messi faced from Paris Saint-Germain fans was unwarranted.

“We get upset because we’re not there for nothing, we’re there to do our best, (to) be champions, try to make history,” Neymar said.

“That’s why we started playing together again, we came together there so we could make history. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it.”