Neymar, the 32-year-old Al-Hilal and Brazil striker and former Paris Saint-Germain star, looked back on his contrasting experience at the club in an interview with Bartoli Time (RMC Sport). Between successes on the pitch and injuries, he shared his outstanding memories, including the 2020 Champions League final, while expressing his disappointment at the club’s management and certain fan behaviors.
Neymar “ My experience at PSG was good and bad ”
“My experience at PSG was good and bad. Very good, because football-wise, I think I was at the peak of my career, and bad, because I was injured for a long time and often, I don’t think I even finished a season, so there was inevitably some sadness.
Neymar “The first year in Paris was magnificent”.
But I won’t forget the great moments like the Champions League final (in 2020), which we could have won, but a final is decided by details.
Otherwise, playing in Ligue 1 was a very good experience, the fans were great with me during my time there, I wrote my history in L1, I’m proud of it, but it’s over and I now have to focus on Al-Hilal. The first year in Paris was magnificent, I was very well received by the fans, but the last two or three weren’t the same, it wasn’t really fair the way I was treated.
Neymar “For me, they’ve crossed the line”.
I think Messi went through more or less the same thing. For me, they crossed the line (when they came to his house). Our relationship was no longer respectful, whereas I’ve always respected them… It was a really complicated situation. I was sad about the way I was treated in the end,” he added, before making a few jabs at his management at the time. I respect PSG and I’ll always support them so that they get the best possible results.
Neymar “I have no hard feelings towards the club”.
I don’t have any grudges against the club, I just have a bit of grudge against some of the people who run the club and some of the fans. My relationship with the fans is unfortunately one of those sad moments. That’s in the past and I have a clear conscience about it.”
Neymar’s Parisian adventure leaves a taste of unfinished business. Despite his exceptional talent, the Brazilian has not been able to express his full potential at PSG. Recurring injuries have deprived the club and its fans of the full measure of his genius. PSG had bet big on Neymar, hoping he would be the missing piece to conquer Europe.
Unfortunately, his chronic unavailability has often left the club helpless at crucial moments. The Champions League final lost in 2020 symbolizes this missed appointment with his history at PSG and that of the club.
Neymar’s flashes of brilliance suggest what his time in Paris might have been like had it not been for his physical problems. This reflection on what could have been will probably go down as one of the biggest regrets of PSG’s Qatari era.
It has to be said, though, that he didn’t come into the interview to “denigrate” the management (despite some of the headlines), or even to slam all the fans. He qualifies his remarks, which seems unexpected given that he was thrown out by the fans. What’s more, he’s paying for a period in which nothing really worked, even though he was the figurehead of a project where everything was in turmoil.
