In an interview with AS, Keylor Navas (39) named Neymar (34) as the most impressive teammate he has ever faced, despite a résumé shared with other giants of the game. At Paris Saint-Germain, the goalkeeper said he saw a player capable of anything, with both feet, possessing a freedom that embodies the purest form of football.
Navas: “I was very impressed by Neymar”
“They are all huge stars and the best players of recent decades, but in terms of talent on the pitch, I was very impressed by Neymar. He could do whatever he wanted with the ball, whether it was with his left or right foot. When I watched him in matches, it felt like playing with my children. Ney is an incredible player.”
What Navas describes is less a list of achievements than a feeling: that of a player who bends the pitch to his will. In this story, Neymar isn’t “just” a star among stars: he’s a technical anomaly, a creative force who seems to defy the rules of the game… without ever appearing to force anything.
The detail about his seemingly indifferent use of his left and right feet isn’t a mere flourish: it’s the sign of a player who doesn’t just react to the ball, but commands it. And the comparison to children isn’t a dig: it’s an image of a rare spontaneity at the highest level, that moment when football becomes an instinctive, immediate, almost audacious language.
