Neymar has reportedly sent a report to Brazilian teammates describing former Liverpool target Kylian Mbappe as 'catastrophic' to play with.
The Frenchman was linked to Liverpool for years whilst at Paris Saint-Germain, and it was revealed by L’Equipe last week that he had agreed to join Liverpool in 2022. The French source said that Liverpool sent PSG a €200 million offer for Mbappe, and the player agreed to sign a short-term contract with the Merseyside club.
PSG asked Liverpool to double their bid, if it was to be accepted, and the deal fell down.
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What did Neymar say?
Journalist Cyril Hanouna told Europe 1 that Neymar contacted the Brazilian players at Real Madrid, a group which includes Vinicius Junior, Eder Militao and Rodrygo, to tell them about the struggles of playing with Mbappe.
Speaking on Europe 1, Hanouna said: “The Brazilians are friends with Neymar. It has always been a war between Neymar and Mbappe. Neymar has sent a report about Mbappe to the Brazilians, telling them that it was catastrophic, that it was hell.”
Mbappe and Neymar were together at PSG between 2017 and 2023, and played 136 times together, winning four Ligue 1 titles.
Mbappé au Real Madrid : « Neymar a fait un papier concernant Mbappé aux autres Brésiliens, que c’était catastrophique de jouer avec lui », déclare @Cyrilhanouna, dans #OMSLT sur #Europe1. pic.twitter.com/zGoXiF6rtS
— Europe 1 (@Europe1) September 13, 2024
However, alongside Lionel Messi, they failed to deliver a first Champions League trophy to the French capital, and all three have now left the club following Mbappe's free transfer to Real Madrid.
Would Mbappe have fit in at Liverpool?
There is always a delicate balance between having world-class players, which Mbappe undoubtedly is, and ensuring that a squad has a sense of team spirit and togetherness.
Whilst Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are the four highest earners at the club, their wages have never completely broken FSG’s structure, despite their clear status as elites of the world game. They remain key figures in a tight-knit squad, all four a part of Liverpool’s five-man leadership group, rather than individuals who play for themselves.
If Neymar’s analysis of Mbappe is true, there is no doubt he could have disrupted the squad’s harmony if he joined, and as good as he is, Liverpool may now view missing out on his signature as a dodged bullet.