I helped Messi take penalties: Neymar

Both played together at Barcelona and PSG.

In a recent exclusive interview, Neymar revealed how he helped Lionel Messi take penalties, which turned him into one of the best spot-kick takers in the game.

Messi is an impressive penalty taker, but there have been moments where he would come under pressure during crucial moments when Barcelona or Argentina were awarded spot-kicks. There have been many instances when the 37-year-old squandered his penalties in big matches.

However, the forward decided to put a stop to this as it was certainly affecting him and the teams he was playing for.

Messi decided to refine his penalty-taking technique and asked for help from one of his former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain teammates, Neymar. In an interview on the Podpah podcast, Neymar said:

“I helped Messi take penalties! We were in training, he asked me…’How do you take penalties like that?’

“I was like: Are you crazy? You’re Messi if I can do it, you can too. Then I taught him and he trained.”

Neymar, who joined Barcelona from Santos, enjoyed a glittering career alongside Messi as he won the Champions League, LaLiga and other trophies. However, the Brazilian decided to leave the club and sign for Paris Saint-Germain. Years later, both were reunited at the French club.

However, after two years, Messi left for Inter Miami, while Neymar joined the Saudi club Al-Hilal after five years at PSG. However, the Brazilian’s time at the Middle East was short-lived as he made only seven appearances owing to injuries and returned back to his childhood club, Santos.

Neymar signed a six-month deal with Santos. As he aims to return to his peak fitness, speculations are saying that he wants to return to Barcelona for a second stint. It will be interesting to see if the forward will renew his deal at Santos or return to Europe.

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