Neymar Sr
has stated that his son had to leave Barcelona, out of respect for Messi, as he
does not want to challenge him for supremacy.
Neymar
completed his €222 million move to Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday, and his
father says he did so because Barcelona is not big enough for both of them.
Neymar Sr
told COPE: “Imagine a place where you are the protagonist of a club, where you
are the idol of that club and everyone wants to transform you into the star
that you do not want to be.
“Messi is
the star and will always be the star. Not only because of the love and respect
that Neymar has for Leo, he is his idol.
“Imagine
that everyone said that Neymar has to be Messi’s substitute, he does not want
to be his substitute. You have to leave Messi, he is the idol at Barcelona.
“Neymar has
to make his own way and accept the challenge he has. I think my son has been a
man, shown respect [to Messi] and now he has to go his own way.
“He could go
to any club and be in the spotlight, not that he wants to be number one. He is
taking a risk. Can PSG guarantee him the Ballon d’Or? No. And it is crazy that
people believe that. It would be easier at Barca, with the help of that team.”
“It was his
decision,” added Neymar Sr. “He was at the club he had dreamt of. He was
comfortable, calm, but it was a choice.
“He listened
to the advice of his friends, he listened to the people around him. He wanted
to rise to this challenge. He had the right to make that decision. Now he is
following his destiny and I think he has had a lot of courage.
“I think he
wanted to change his destiny, but I cannot summarise [the reasons]. Several
feelings led to his view that he had to make that change. We waited for the
right moment, with enough time to have the peace of mind to choose.
“We had that
time and when he came back from China, he made the decision and we will respect
and support him. We communicated his exit to the club and we asked Paris to pay
his release clause.
“He was
proud of everything he did with Barca and left through the front door. People
forget how things have gone.”
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