For Paris Saint-Germain, after the World Cup, the club was in a state of blissful troubles. Happy because the two players who have performed best in the World Cup, Messi and Mbappe, are both Paris Saint-Germain stars, one won the World Cup and the World Cup Golden Ball, and the other won the World Cup runner-up and the World Cup Golden Boot. In addition, the fourth Moroccan number one star Ashraf is also a player in Paris, and Paris Saint-Germain is the number one winner of this World Cup. However, the trouble is that the contradiction between Messi and Mbappe has gradually become public, and this time the contradiction is mainly focused on the issue of Neymar's stay.
As we all know, Paris Saint-Germain's three superstars are Messi, Neymar and Mbappe, and there is still a big gap between other stars, such as Verratti, Marquinhos, Ramos or Ashraf. Among them, Messi and Neymar have been friends for many years, and as early as when both played for Barcelona, Neymar was Messi's younger brother. Denmar then transferred from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2017 for a high salary in Paris, and Mbappe joined Paris in the same year, and Neymar and Mbappe have since fought for the position of the number one superstar in Paris.
In the first two seasons, Neymar, who became famous earlier, obviously overtook Mbappe and became Paris Saint-Germain's "brother", but after the 2018 World Cup, Mbappe has the aura of "World Cup winner" and the status of a local star, and his status in Paris is getting higher and higher, gradually catching up with or even surpassing Neymar. In terms of statistics, Neymar has made 165 appearances for Paris since August 2017, scoring 115 goals and contributing 73 assists; Mbappe, on the other hand, made 239 appearances for Paris in the same time, scoring 191 goals and contributing 93 assists, outperforming Neymar in terms of appearances and efficiency.
In addition to competing on the pitch, Neymar's bohemian personality and Brazilian playful nature have also created a great conflict with the self-disciplined Mbappe, and both sides have a lot of supporters in the Paris dressing room. Neymar's supporters are mainly American players such as Marquinhos, Di Maria, Paredes and Keylor Navas, while Mbappe's supporters are mainly French players such as Ashraf, Pereira, Kimpembe, Verratti and European players. At the end of the 2021-2022 season, Mbappe's contract with Paris expired and he was eventually renewed, and Neymar also triggered an automatic extension clause, and it is interesting that both new contracts with Paris will expire in June 2025.
If there is no accident, Mbappe will gradually take over Neymar's position as the "first brother" in Paris, and Paris is not opposed to selling Neymar at a reasonable price, but the accident happened in August 2021. Messi and Barca's contract expired, Laporta used despicable means to purge Messi, Paris Saint-Germain took the opportunity to invite Messi to join Paris, and finally Messi agreed to join Paris Saint-Germain, during which Neymar also made a lot of efforts. After Messi joined Paris, Neymar gave up the status of "first brother" in Paris to his former big brother Messi, and Messi became the number one star of Paris Saint-Germain, which made Mbappe extremely disappointed who wanted to be the boss.
After the end of the 2021-2022 season, Mbappe was close to leaving the team, Real Madrid extended an olive branch to Mbappe, and Mbappe also intended to move, but at the critical moment, Paris Saint-Germain's behind-the-scenes boss Qatari royal family came forward, and the French president put pressure on Mbappe, knowing that with "power" and "benefit", not only offered Mbappe a top salary, but also promised Mbappe the right to participate in important matters such as the selection of managers and player transfers, and finally Mbappe chose to renew his contract with Paris.
In the period following Mbappe's contract extension, Paris Saint-Germain did show considerable sincerity, sacking former manager Argentine Pochettino, choosing Frenchman Galtier as the team's manager, and inviting Campos, who had a knack for Mbappe, to be the club's sporting director. And in the summer transfer window brought in Vitinha, Ruiz, Soler, Sanchez and other European players, sent Di Maria, Icardi, Paredes, Rafinha and other South American players from Argentina and Brazil, the comparison of the strength of the French and European gangs and the South American gangs in the Paris team has changed significantly. An important reason for Paris Saint-Germain to make such a decision is that in the 2021-2022 season, Mbappe alone scored 39 goals and contributed 21 assists, while Messi and Neymar combined only scored 24 goals and contributed 22 assists, and the combined statistics of the two are not as good as Mbappe alone.
However, things have changed significantly again this season, with Kylian Mbappe still doing well this season, scoring 20 goals and providing five assists in 22 games, but Messi and Neymar have been even better this season. Messi has scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists in 19 appearances this season, while Neymar has scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists in 21 appearances, surpassing Mbappe in goals and assists by either Messi and Neymar.
Especially in the World Cup, although Neymar's Brazil team went out early, but Messi's Argentina won in direct competition with Mbappe's French team, Messi also pressured Mbappe to win the World Cup Golden Ball, the reputation is not the same, if there is no accident, this season the Golden Ball Award will belong to Messi again, Messi is likely to win the Ballon d'Or for the 8th time without ever before.
Messi's contract with Paris Saint-Germain will expire at the end of this season, and Paris Saint-Germain naturally cannot make the same mistake as Barca, letting Messi leave for nothing, and offering Messi generous contract extension conditions. And Messi has no objection to the treatment of the contract offered by Paris, but put forward a proviso: I can renew the contract, but Neymar must also stay, and the club cannot sell Neymar!
Of course, Mbappe will not directly say the words that he hopes Neymar will leave, but Mbappe missed the ceremony organized by Paris Saint-Germain Club to welcome the World Cup winner for Messi, and went to the United States for a vacation with his friend Ashraf, just as the so-called out of sight is clean, with practical actions to show his attitude towards Messi and Neymar.
As the top scorer of the World Cup, Mbappe kicked the ball to the top management of Paris Saint-Germain Club, whether to choose Messi and Neymar or Mbappe, may need the team owner to make a decision as soon as possible, although Messi is a generation of kings, but after all, it is close to the end of his career, and Mbappe is the most expensive player in the world, the most powerful contender for the number one star in world football after Messi.
Therefore, whether Messi renews his contract with Paris is not only related to Messi's future in Paris, but even closely related to the future of Neymar and Mbappe.
Note: The picture comes from the web.