Ex-PSG Star Could Replicate Neymar Issues at Real Madrid, Expert Believes | OneFootball

Last summer, Paris Saint-Germain decided to part ways with Neymar Jr. and Lionel Messi, giving control of the team to Kylian Mbappé. However, this arrangement only lasted for one season, as Mbappé left after the 2023-24 campaign.

Instead of having a trio of superstars—Messi, Mbappé, and Neymar Jr.—PSG chose to focus on just one, making the 25-year-old the focal point last season.

However, Neymar Jr.’s father disagreed with PSG’s decision to center the club around Mbappé. L’ÉQUIPE reported that he referred to the reigning Ligue 1 champions as having “given the keys to the club to a madman.”

With the issues between Neymar Jr. and Mbappé coming to light, could these problems happen over at Real Madrid? While talking to PSG Talk, journalist Robin Bairner believes that the 2018 FIFA World Cup might face challenges with his new teammates.

“I definitely think there could be similar issues at Real Madrid for Mbappé, in fact,” Bairner said. “I think there could be greater issues for him because he has gone from being the top dog at PSG… there’s no doubt that he got his own way more often than not, whether that’s in terms of signings or more minor things. There’s no doubt that Mbappé was the man. Now he’s going to go to Real Madrid, which is a very different club in terms of the way it’s set up.

“He’s going to have to battle with Vini Jr. just to get his place in the left wing. He’s going to have to battle with Jude Bellingham to be the star of the team. There’s just going to be so many more small wars for him to fight, and it’s going to be really interesting to see how he copes with that because it’s going to be a very different environment for him and one that he’s absolutely not used to. And it’ll be interesting to see how he goes on from there.

“In terms of a reaction to the Neymar stuff, yeah, I absolutely think that this is true. And in some ways, it’s almost a logical outcome to the relationship between Mbappé and Neymar. On one hand, you’ve got Neymar, who doesn’t take himself very seriously at all, and on the other, you’ve got Mbappé, who perhaps takes himself a little bit too seriously.

“So this clash, although they started off as friends at PSG, does seem to be a sort of a logical conclusion to everything and yeah, it’s farcical because even after Mbappe and Neymar have left, we’re still getting these tabloid reports about their relationship and while it’s entertaining, it’s also illuminating as to perhaps some of the problems that PSG were suffering in recent years.”

Meanwhile, PSG will end the superstar era and focus on young players who want to make a name for themselves.