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AS Roma midfielder Leandro Paredes recently explained why Neymar Jr is similar to Lionel Messi. The Argentine midfielder shared the pitch with both superstars during his time with French champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, the 30-year-old narrated a story about the Brazilian maestro, saying:
"Neymar is the type of player who'll say before the game "Today, I'll play well" and on the pitch he does whatever he wants. I have some story about him from a Champions League match that I can’t tell until I’m very old, but I will say it someday. For me there are only two players who can do that, Messi and Ney.”
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Paredes has played 3,735 minutes across 70 games alongside Messi for PSG and the Argentina national team. The pair have combined for four goals and average 2.29 points per game. Together they helped La Albiceleste to the World Cup and two Copa America titles.
On the other hand, he played 3,507 minutes across 59 games with Neymar at PSG. They combined for one goal and won three Ligue 1s, two French Cups, and one League Cup.
Neymar reveals Lionel Messi tried to convince him to stay at Barcelona in 2017, explains why he left Catalan giants for Paris
Neymar Jr recently revealed that Lionel Messi tried to convince him to stay at Barcelona in 2017. The Brazilian star ended up joining PSG for a world record fee of €222 million.
In an interview with Rosario earlier this year, the South American forward said (via Yahoo Sports):
“I didn’t leave Barca to be the best in the world at PSG. Messi told me: ‘Why are you leaving? Do you want to be the best player in the world? I can make you the best player in the world.’”
He added:
“I told him no. It’s not that. It’s something personal. Obviously, financially, it was better than what I had at Barcelona… and there were Brazilians there too, I wanted to play with the Brazilians. There was Thiago Silva, Dani Alves just signed, Marquinhos, Lucas Moura. They were all my friends.”
Neymar and Lionel Messi would reunite at PSG in 2021 after the Argentine great left Barcelona on a free transfer. The pair played 16,362 minutes across 206 games for La Blaugrana and La Parisien. They combined for 67 goals and won four League titles, six domestic Cups, and one UEFA Champions League.
