Few players have had a career as decorated as Neymar’s, and the MSN trio he formed with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Barcelona marked an era in world soccer.
The three forwards dominated defenses across Europe and led the club to a historic treble in 2015, winning LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. Even so, Neymar feels his best version did not come during that stage of his career.
The Brazilian made that clear while speaking with Argentine streamer Davoo Xeneize in a video on the creator’s YouTube channel, where he named Paris Saint-Germain as the club where he reached his prime.
“For me, the prime was at Paris Saint-Germain, when I played there. People remember Barcelona because of the MSN (Messi, Suarez, Neymar), but as a player I think PSG was my prime because I had strength, speed and intelligence there, I already knew the whole pitch, and for me that was my best version,” he said.
The answer stands out given Neymar’s four seasons in Catalonia between 2013 and 2017, before his move to PSG that summer. In Paris he won four Ligue 1 titles, and his reasoning has more to do with his maturity as a player, with the physical and tactical knowledge he had gained, than with trophies.
see also
Neymar hails Lamine Yamal as ‘best in the world’ after Barcelona star’s stunning start to the season
Barcelona vs PSG: how Neymar’s two eras compare
The statistics help explain Neymar’s view. With Barcelona, he scored 105 goals in 186 official matches, with 2014-15 standing out as his best campaign, when he netted 39 times in 51 games. In Paris, he scored 118 goals in 173 matches, a better goals-per-game rate than in Spain, and became the club’s fourth all-time top scorer.
The trophy cabinets tell a different story. Neymar won ten major trophies at Barcelona, including two LaLiga titles, three Copa del Rey trophies and the Champions League, all of them alongside Messi. At PSG he collected 13 domestic trophies, led by five Ligue 1 crowns, but never won a European title.
| Barcelona | PSG | |
| Seasons | 4 (2013-17) | 6 (2017-23) |
| Matches | 186 | 173 |
| Goals | 105 | 118 |
| Goals per match | 0.56 | 0.68 |
| Champions League titles | 1 | 0 |
| League titles | 2 | 5 |
Whether his prime came in Catalonia or in Paris, Neymar’s career leaves little doubt about his talent, and the debate over which era was his best is likely to continue among fans. Now back at Santos, the club where it all began, the Brazilian can at least say he has chosen his own answer.
