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Neymar: 'It is a pleasure to play alongside Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi'

sportsmole.co.uk, 17 November 2022, 23:22
Brazil star Neymar has affirmed that it is a "huge pleasure" to play alongside Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain amid uncertainty over their futures at the Parc des Princes.

All three players have been linked with a potential exit from the Ligue 1 giants, particularly Mbappe and Messi, with the latter out of contract next summer.

Messi's former club Barcelona are believed to be exploring the possibility of luring the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner back to Camp Nou, while David Beckham's Inter Miami have also been credited with an interest.

As for Mbappe, his future has been cast into doubt in recent months following reports claiming that he feels unhappy at the club and wants to leave in January, but the 23-year-old has publicly denied those accusations.

Mbappe, who extended his contract with PSG until June 2025 earlier this year, is allegedly on Manchester United's radar as a potential replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Mbappe and Messi have enjoyed a successful start to the 2022-23 campaign along with Neymar in the French capital, with the formidable trio scoring a combined 46 goals across all tournaments.

Neymar joined PSG five years ago for a world-record fee of around £200m, before Mbappe followed him to the Parc des Princes on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy from Monaco a mere four weeks later, while Messi arrived in the summer of 2021 on a free transfer.

Question marks have been raised as to whether all three superstars can play alongside each other in the same team and be successful, but Neymar insists that he would rather play alongside the best players than against them.

Speaking in an interview with The Telegraph about Mbappe and Messi, Neymar said: "Kylian is a young player who's been growing and showing his potential and still has a lot to grow.

"It's always great to play alongside the greats, I've always preferred that because the chances of winning are higher.

"Playing with [Lionel Messi] and Kylian is a huge pleasure. They're two greats, with Messi long considered the best in the world."

Both Mbappe and Messi have hinted that they are planning to stay at PSG, with the former telling Sports Illustrated: "In Paris, the page is completely blank. What an opportunity! You have to think differently. Of course, it was easier to go to [Real] Madrid.

"But I have this ambition. I'm French. I'm a child of Paris, and to win in Paris, it's something really special, really special. It writes your name in the history of your country for life.

"You can stay here to have success. For us it's a big message, because when I announced I stay, a lot of things change in the mentality of people. People start to say, 'Yeah, we don't need to go out. You don't need to leave the country.'"

Speaking to Le Parisien, Messi said: "I like Paris a lot more now, I have discovered the city and I find it magnificent," Le Parisien quotes Messi as saying. "In the first year, there was a huge change.

"Things happened very suddenly, it was not my objective to leave Barcelona, and everything about it was very abrupt. After this long period and the difficult times, I am happy to live where I live, and my family and I are enjoying Paris."

Neymar, Messi and Mbappe are the standout names representing Brazil, Argentina and France respectively at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with the latter hoping to lift his second world title after going all the way with Les Bleus four years ago in Russia.

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