Arsenal icon blasts "crybabies" Neymar and Lionel Messi over PSG claim

04 September 2023 , 10:36

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Neymar said he and Lionel Messi "lived through hell" at Paris Saint-Germain (Image: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Arsenal legend Robert Pires has slammed Neymar after he claimed he and Lionel Messi "lived through hell" during their time at Paris Saint-Germain.

Both Neymar and Messi left the club this summer after PSG supporters turned against them. Neymar has made the move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal, while Messi is now starring for Inter Miami in the MLS.

Following his move to Saudi Arabia, Neymar opened up about his time in Paris with Messi, telling Brazilian outlet Globo : "I was very happy for the year he [Messi] had, but at the same time very sad, because he lived both sides of the coin, he went to heaven with the Argentina team, won everything in recent years, and with Paris he lived hell.

"We lived through hell, both he and I. We get upset, because we're not there for nothing, we're there to do our best, be champions, try to make history, that's why we started playing together again, we came together there so we could make history.

"Unfortunately, we didn't make it. Messi left in a way that, for football, he didn't deserve. For everything he is, everything he does, anyone who knows him knows, he is a guy who trains, who fights, if he loses he gets angry, and he was unfairly treated in my opinion.

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"But at the same time I was very happy that he won the World Cup. As you said, football was fair this time, since the Brazilian team lost, Messi deserved to end his career like this." However, Pires was not impressed by Neymar's comments, branding both him and Messi "crybabies".

"I call that being crybabies," he told Canal+. "Being a professional player means withstanding the pressure. Sometimes, when you play well, you're glad to receive praise. When you don't, that's part of the game.

Arsenal legend Robert Pires has branded Neymar and Messi "crybabies" (Icon Sport via Getty Images)

"We have all been criticized. When I joined Arsenal, I had to replace Marc Overmars and they said I was hopeless. I kept my mouth shut, kept working and it eventually paid off."

PSG boss Luis Enrique was also quizzed about Neymar's comments and was rather diplomatic in his response. "These are personal experiences," Enrique said. "I don't want to get into that.

"I can tell you about my experience: I'm absolutely delighted. I feel like I'm in charge of a rather unique team with a club that trusts me 100 per cent."

Matthew Cooper