Paris Saint-Germain forward, Neymar, has claimed that teammate Lionel Messi has nothing to prove to his critics in his second season as a Parisians player.
Messi had an underwhelming first campaign with PSG after his move from Barcelona, scoring 11 goals in 34 games.
This was down on the 38 goals he scored with Barcelona the previous year.
The Argentina captain assisted 14 goals, though, 10 of which came after the turn of the year.
Only Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele (11) has managed more across Europe’s top five leagues in 2022.
Messi impressed in his first competitive outing of the 2022/2023 campaign on Sunday as he opened the scoring in PSG’s 4-0 Trophee des Champions win over Nantes.
However, when asked if that display is a sign of a new Messi at PSG, Neymar leapt to the defence of his colleague.
“I don’t think so. I think people talk too much,” Neymar said at his post-match press conference. “They don’t know what’s going on every day, what’s going on inside.
“Leo, it is Leo. It is still Leo, it doesn’t change. No, he continues to make a difference. He adapts.
“It is obvious that we hope that everything goes well for the three of us, for me, for Leo, for Kylian [Mbappe]. If the three of us are well, I am sure it is good for the team.”
