Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi recently criticized Lionel Messi, telling former footballer Jeremy Rothen’s podcast ‘Rothen s’enflamme’ that the Argentine ‘disrespected PSG‘ by railing against the Parisian club once he left and signed for Inter Miami.

These statements by Al-Khelaifi have gone around the world, so much so that an interview Neymar gave months ago to the Globo Esporte newspaper has gone viral in several media outlets.

It was in that exact interview in which the Brazilian reveals the ‘hell’ which Messi and himself were forced to go through in the French capital.

Neymar’s words in September

In the interview given to Globo Esporte after signing for Saudi Arabian league side Al-Hilal in September 2023, Neymar was harsh on PSG and criticized them over the way Messi left the Parisian club.

“We lived through hell in Paris. We are there [in Paris] to give our best and be champions, to try to make history, that’s why we started to play together again, we got together there to make history,” Neymar told Globo Esporte.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t make it, he went to heaven with Argentina, I was very happy for him, but in Paris he went through hell. In my opinion, he was unfairly judged in Paris, he had an exit that, from a footballing point of view, he didn’t deserve.”

Neymar left Barcelona in the summer of 2017 to join Paris Saint-Germain in what to this day, is the most expensive transfer of all time, valued at 222 million euros. However, the Brazilian was never able to reach the heights of excellence he achieved at Barcelona.

After Messi’s arrival in Paris in 2021, it was hoped that with the trident they would form alongside Kylian Mbappé they would finally win the elusive Champions League.

However, egos in the team played their part and led to the departures of Messi and Neymar, leaving Mbappé as the only superstar at PSG.