“Me and Kylian, we’re really bad” – Neymar once highlighted attribute in which Lionel Messi beats him and Mbappe
Neymar once claimed that Lionel Messi was better at heading than both himself and former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) teammate Kylian Mbappe.
Messi is renowned for his quick feet and long-distance shooting and heading has never quite been touted as one of his main attributes. The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner has scored some memorable headers in his career though.
Neymar insisted last year that the Argentine icon was the best at heading and even went as far as to say he and Mbappe weren't any good. He told Soccer Stories - Oh My Goal on YouTube [2:44]:
"I think that's Messi. Me and Kylian, we're really bad!"
Lionel Messi has scored 24 of 721 goals throughout his illustrious career with his head. One of his most famous was his stunning header for Barcelona in a 2-0 win against Manchester United in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final. The 5 foot 7 inch Argentine rose above Rio Ferdinand to head past United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
Meanwhile, 15 of the 296 goals scored by Neymar thus far in his career have been headers. It's certainly not one of his most remarkable attributes and he once admitted in 2020 that he's sometimes afraid to head the ball (via PSGTalk):
“The head is only good for thinking. When I play, I play with my feet. No, my headers are not bad. They are good. I can control them and finish well. But the truth is I’m a bit scared.”
Heading is also not one of Mbappe's strengths as he's only scored nine throughout his career. The PSG superstar is sublime with the ball at his feet and has bagged 243 goals without the use of his head.
Neymar explains why his partnership with Lionel Messi and Mbappe failed to deliver UEFA Champions League glory
Neymar explained the difficulties PSG had in winning the Champions League after leaving for Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal this summer. He said (via GOAL):
"We had a very strong team. Messi, Mbappe and I are three guys who are the best in the world. We knew it, but unfortunately we didn't fit in. It wasn't good for us."
The football world expected PSG to finally win the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club's history after Lionel Messi's arrival in 2021. The Parisians have long desired to lift the European title but did not have success on the grand European stage.
It was the same old story during Messi's two seasons at the Parc des Princes despite the formation of a formidable frontline with Mbappe and Neymar. The Ligue 1 giants failed to make it beyond the Round of 32 in 2021-22 and 22-23.
Lionel Messi was a four-time Champions League winner with Barcelona before joining the Parisians. Neymar also had one European title to his name from his days at Barca.
However, Mbappe has never won Europe's elite club competition. The closest he came was in 2019-20 when PSG suffered a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the final.