"I hope we do play together again": Neymar on playing again with Lionel Messi

Neymar and Messi have played together at Barcelona and PSG

After rumours about his “problems” in Saudi Arabia surfaced, Neymar made the shocking statement that he wants to play with former striking partner Lionel Messi once more.

Throughout his playing days in Europe, the Brazilian attacker teamed up with the renowned World Cup winner at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, where they developed a close relationship both on and off the field of play.

They first played together at Camp Nou as a renowned trio of forwards that also included Luis Suarez, and in 2015 they won the Champions League.

Neymar’s record-breaking £198 million transfer to PSG in 2017 split up this incredible trio, but the striker reconnected with Messi in the French capital four years later. Having entwined their careers throughout their stay on the continent, they once more split ways in 2023.

The 32-year-old winger admitted to ESPN during the Formula One campaign opener at the Bahrain Grand Prix that he does not think his relationship with Messi is over. He declared:

“I hope we do play together again. Leo is a great person. Anyone in football, everyone knows him. I think he is very happy. If he is happy, I am too.”

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Their relationship ended once more in the summer when Messi left for MLS’s Inter Miami and Neymar joined Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. Less than one year during his spell in the Gulf State, though, Brazil’s all-time top scorer has acknowledged that he longs to play with his former ally.

Since Neymar suffered a serious anterior cruciate ligament rupture in October while playing for his country, his seven months in Saudi Arabia have not quite gone as planned. This happened just five games into his £77 million move to a new club, virtually ruling him out for the season.

As a sign of how serious the Brazilian’s injury was, he was later removed from the team’s roster to make room for a foreign player. However, rumours that the superstar had not quite settled in the nation had been circulating even before this injury, given his deadlocked beginning to the Pro League.

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