Neymar's father, Neymar Sr, has revealed that the reason his son decided to leave Barcelona was connected to Lionel Messi.
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In 2017, Brazil's all-time top goalscorer made the controversial decision to complete the record-breaking transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain. The French giants spent a staggering €222 million (R4.2 billion) to secure the Mogi das Cruzes native.
In his Netflix documentary, Neymar: The Perfect Chaos, his former attacking teammate Messi claimed that, while he advised the budding superstar not to leave Camp Nou, he never actually found out the reason for his departure.
However, Neymar Sr has now shed light on why the Al-Hilal player decided to call time on his career with the Catalan giants when he did, claiming it was because of the record Ballon d'Or winner.
"Going to PSG was his decision, he decided to change," he told the Jota Jota Podcast.
"At that time, we were in a very difficult situation at Barca because we didn't know what the sporting management thought.
"It seemed that the club wanted him to take Messi's place, and he didn't want that. He decided to leave, to go somewhere else. I wanted my son to stay at Barca. Until the last days, we tried to keep him from leaving. But he left because he didn't want to take Messi's position and be Barca's biggest star."
The superstar's father also revealed how Neymar rejected the opportunity to sign with Real Madrid when he left Santos in 2013, claiming his son was determined to play alongside Messi and Luis Suarez.
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"Signing for Barca was entirely his decision," Neymar Sr added. "I had in my hands offers from Barca and Madrid. The one from Madrid was three times higher. And he said no, he wanted to play with those guys (Suarez and Messi). His dream was to play for Barcelona."
