Thiago Silva reflects with regret on the Neymar-Mbappé rift at PSG

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·14 de dezembro de 2025

Thiago Silva reflects with regret on the Neymar-Mbappé rift at PSG

Former Paris Saint-Germain captain, Thiago Silva (41 years old), now a central defender at Chelsea, spoke to L’Équipe about the relationship between Neymar, the Brazilian forward, and Kylian Mbappé (26 years old), then the rising star of PSG. A promising duo that became a symbol of a failed relationship in Paris.

Thiago Silva: “Both arrived that summer and their relationship was incredible”

“At Paris-SG, Mbappé and Neymar got along very well at first, but their relationship deteriorated. Why? It was a beautiful story, though. I remember the Trophée des Champions against Kylian Mbappé’s Monaco in Morocco (PSG’s 2-1 victory on July 29, 2017, in Tangier). At the end of the match, Mbappé wanted to talk to me. He said: ‘Even if Neymar signs, I want to come too and be part of this team. If you can talk to the president about it.’ Both arrived that summer and their relationship was incredible. They were connected to each other, among those who had the most fun every day. I didn’t understand why they fell out. I was no longer at Paris-SG. I don’t know which of the two caused this separation, but it made me sad. They are two wonderful guys, and it’s disappointing that it ended like that.”

At first, everything seemed aligned. Neymar and Kylian Mbappé arrived at Paris Saint-Germain in a rare atmosphere of excitement, with an obvious bond both on and off the pitch. Their football was instinctive, joyful, almost natural. The connections were immediate, the smiles frequent, and the dominant impression was that of a duo capable of taking Paris very far. At that moment, nothing suggested a breakup was coming.

Vídeos OneFootball

Then their paths diverged. Neymar, already a global star, bore the weight of leadership and European expectations, while Mbappé, on the rise, was increasingly establishing himself as the face of the club’s future. The dynamics were no longer the same, the statuses evolved, and so did the responsibilities. This gradual shift weakened a relationship that was solid at the start. That’s what makes the break so hard to understand: it wasn’t built on an initial conflict, but on a silent, almost imperceptible evolution, until a natural understanding turned into a heavy distance.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.