Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. were teammates for years, first at FC Barcelona and then at Paris Saint-Germain. During their time together, the Brazilian forward taught Leo a technique that he later used in key moments of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
One of the reasons why Lionel Messi is considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time is not only his extraordinary talent but also his immense competitive mentality. His unyielding desire to win has driven him to continually refine key aspects of his game throughout his career. Now, Neymar Jr. has revealed the role he played in helping Leo improve one such aspect during their time at Paris Saint-Germain, a skill that Messi later utilized during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“We were practicing penalties in Paris and he said to me: ‘How do you kick like that?’” Neymar began, recounting the moment during a recent interview on PodPah. “I looked at him and I said: ‘Are you crazy? You are Messi. If I can kick like that, so can you. You just have to practice it.’”
Indeed, Ney has always had a distinctive penalty technique. He approaches the ball slowly, keeping his eyes locked on the opposing goalkeeper’s movements, waiting for the him to make an early move. Once that happens, Neymar calmly places the ball in the opposite direction.
The Brazilian superstar then revealed what Messi’s response to that advice was. “He started laughing and said, ‘I’m going to try it.’ And that’s how it started,” explained the Ney, who played alongside Leo for four years at Barcelona and another two at Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi implemented that technique
Taking Neymar’s advice to heart, Lionel Messi adjusted his penalty-taking approach, improving his effectiveness in this area over the past few years. Between 2008 and 2021, the year Leo joined Paris Saint-Germain, the Argentine forward missed 30 penalties. However, since then, he has missed only three.
The most critical moment Messi faced with this new technique came during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where he led Argentina to the title. “In the World Cup he won, he scored several penalties like that. The only one he didn’t kick that way, the goalkeeper saved it for him,” Ney said.
Throughout the tournament, Argentina were awarded five penalties. Against Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Croatia, and France, Messi opted to use Neymar’s technique and scored in all of them. However, in the third match of the group stage against Poland, the forward struck the ball with more power, and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny managed to save it.
The bond between Neymar and Messi
Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. spent many years together at FC Barcelona, and later at Paris Saint-Germain, although their time together at the French club was less successful. Despite that, their deep friendship continues to thrive and is evident whenever they meet on the field as rivals in international matches between Argentina and Brazil.
In the same interview with PodPah, Neymar shared how his admiration for Leo influenced key decisions throughout his career. “My dream was to play with Messi. I got an offer from both Barcelona and Real Madrid. Florentino Perez (Real Madrid president) always liked me and would talk to me about coming to his club. He would tell me, ‘Put it in writing and we’ll pay you,’” the Brazilian forward explained.
“If I had gone to Real Madrid, I would have earned three times more,” Neymar admitted. “But I listened to my heart… My dream was to go to Barcelona, to play with Messi. That’s why I decided to join.”
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