“I call that being crybabies” – Neymar and Lionel Messi targeted by Arsenal legend who suggests they struggled to withstand pressure at PSG
Arsenal legend Robert Pires has labeled Neymar and Lionel Messi as 'crybabies' after the Brazilian's latest comments on the duo's Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) exit. The Frenchman believed that the duo just needed to work hard on the pitch, and it would have paid off.
Neymar and Messi left PSG this summer and their experience at the club was described as "hell" by the Brazilian. The Ligue 1 side have refused to comment on the bold statements made by their former player.
Pires was on Canal+ when he criticized Neymar and Lionel Messi. He claimed that as professional footballers, they needed to deal with pressure. He said:
"I call that being crybabies. Being a professional player means withstanding the pressure. Sometimes, when you play well, you're glad to receive praise. When you don't, that's part of the game. We have all been criticized. When I joined Arsenal, I had to replace Marc Overmars and they said I was hopeless. I kept my mouth shut, kept working and it eventually paid off."
Neymar and Lionel Messi played 45 matches together for PSG and assisted each other for 11 goals.
Neymar claims Lionel Messi was unfairly treated at PSG
Neymar, while in conversation with Globo, claimed that he was happy for Lionel Messi's 2022 year, but also sad for him as he was aware of what was happening in Paris.
He said:
"I was very happy for the year he [Messi] had, but at the same time very sad, because he lived both sides of the coin, he went to heaven with the Argentina team, won everything in recent years, and with Paris he lived hell. We lived through hell, both he and I."
He added:
"We get upset, because we're not there for nothing, we're there to do our best, be champions, try to make history, that's why we started playing together again, we came together there so we could make history. Unfortunately, we didn't make it. Messi left in a way that, for football, he didn't deserve. For everything he is, everything he does, anyone who knows him knows, he is a guy who trains, who fights, if he loses he gets angry, and he was unfairly treated in my opinion."
Neymar was sold to Al Hilal, while Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami after running down his contract at PSG.