Suarez opens up on his conversation with Neymar ahead of PSG move: 'He could have won...'

Once a player who was supposed to rule the footballing world, Neymar was the primary candidate to win the Ballon d'Or after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the Brazilian could not rise through the ranks to win the award. While some say it is owing to the several injuries he incurred over the years whereas some highlight other reasons. For Luis Suarez, who was Neymar's mate at Barcelona, the reason is him leaving the Blaugrana club at the peak of his career. The duo formed an incredible partnership with Lionel Messi. From 2014 to 2017, the trio broke many goalscoring records together, while being refereed as MSN.

Neymar Jr, over the years, became a subject of what could have been, what should have been. While he still has incredible career stats to showcase, many experts state that his on-field accolades do not justify the talent he possesses. Addressing the same veteran Uruguan striker Luis Suarez gave a statement to media unit placer. As per Suarez, the fate of Neymar would have been different had he not moved to the French capital.

“I am responsible for my words. If Neymar had stayed in Barcelona, he would have won the Ballon d’Or.” Suarez also revealed that he and Messi tried to persuade Neymar to stay at Barcelona, but the Brazilian’s family wanted to make the move to PSG instead. “He listened to us and said that he wanted to stay, but as you know, with his surroundings, it is difficult to manage. We advised him as friends to stay, but his family decided to move out.” 

MSN together

During their time together in FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., and Luis Suarez formed a deadly nexus that took the entire Europe undewr its vicinity. For Barcelona, the trio graced the field on 409 occasions scoring 344 times and recording 157 assists together. They led FC Barcelona to a treble in the 2014/2015 season. Following the success, Neymar parted his ways and went to PSG on a record transfer. Since then, Neymar has stayed at Paris Saint Germain and in 2021 he was reunited with Lionel Messi at the club.