The media’s narrative about a rivalry existing between Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappé appears to be completely manufactured.
After being named France Football‘s best French player of 2019 for the second consecutive year, Mbappé spoke to the publication about his relationship with Neymar and the supposed power struggle between two of the most valuable footballers in the world following the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
If you believe Mbappé, and we’re certainly inclined to, there is absolutely no rivalry with Neymar and their friendship that we see today is genuine.
“When I arrived in Paris, there was no debate. It was he [Neymar] who was the superstar, whom I had come to help a little bit. He gets injured, misses the World Cup and I win it. That was when the stories of our alleged rivalry started to come out, along with my supposed desire to take his place. I was shocked to hear all of this.”
“When I came back to Camp des Loges in August 2018, the first thing I did was go and catch “Ney” to tell him: ‘You may have missed your World Cup…and all the better for us [France]. But, don’t worry, I won’t be walking on your flower beds here. I will play for the Ballon d’Or France Foot this year because you’re not in the race, but I assure you that I don’t want to take your place, you can keep it. I’m always here to help you.'”
In recent weeks, Mbappé and Neymar have been outstanding for Paris Saint-Germain. They were the catalysts for the comeback against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League and have linked up for several goals in Ligue 1 play.
Manager Thomas Tuchel was recently asked about the attacking duo and provided an interesting insight into their mindset.
“Neymar motivates Mbappé, and Mbappé motivates Neymar—that’s good,” Tuchel said as reported by Goal.
When asked if Mbappé and Neymar could take their partnership to the next level, Tuchel remained optimistic.
“They play very well together. They’ve regained confidence and fitness; that’s the most important thing.”
“They defend with a lot of intensity. They’re dangerous together because they like to play together. They’re very close together on the field, and we want to play like that.”
All of this is to say, don’t trust everything you read in the media about PSG, especially when it comes to Mbappé and Neymar. Many sites simply want to generate clicks and pageviews and creating a story about friction existing between two high-profile players accomplishes that even if it’s not true.
Want more PSG? Visit the PSG Talk Podcast Network page and subscribe to PSG Talking, The 1970, and 24th & Parc.
