So far this season, Neymarhas been Paris Saint-Germain‘s most influential player, with eight goals and seven assists in the league. However, his tenure at the club has not been without its challenges.
On the other hand,Kylian Mbappe has contributed three goals for France in European play and seven goals for his club’s league. Now, everyone can’t stop drawing parallels between the two, even Neymar, who mentioned his friend last week while on international duty with Brazil.
Both players were expensive acquisitions for the 10-times Ligue 1 winners; the Brazilian ace was purchased for a record-breaking €222 million in 2017. Meanwhile, the French striker came to Paris on loan before being permanently transferred from Monaco for €180 million.
WhyPSG made a mistake by signing Kylian Mbappe andNeymar per Luis Campos
Recent headlines have been dominated by stories about an alleged conflict between Kylian Mbappe and Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain. Amid considerable hoopla, both teams arrived in Paris in 2017, but rivalries have since emerged both on and off the field. The Red-and-Blues’ coaching staff has had to cope with the stress of theirrelationship for five seasons.
French daily L’Equipehas recently claimedthat the pair’s connection in the French city has entirely eroded this season, severely endangering the team’s cohesiveness. Since the team lost the 2020 UEFA Champions League Final to Bayern, it’s fair to conclude that the massive investment in the two players has not yet paid off.
Despite this, both have been statistical successes, with Neymar scoring 111 goals in 155 gamesand helping Paris win four league championships.The 23-year-old striker, meanwhile, has tied the Brazilian for most league championships (4) with his 181 goals in 226 games at the Parc des Princes.
NowLuis Campos has admittedthe club ‘made a mistake’by acquiring both Neymar and Mbappe, despite their on-field success.In an interview with RMC Sport,the Portuguese football advisorexpressed doubts about whether or not it was a good idea for the club to bring on both players.
“We made the mistake in the past of recruiting two players in the same position. The transfer window is not good because we are missing players in key positions and because we have overlapping players in other positions”.
