The renowned football player from Brazil, Neymar Jr., made a shocking disclosure while playing for Paris Saint-Germain: he said that colleague Kylian Mbappe was “a little jealous” when superstar Lionel Messi joined the French team on a free transfer in August 2021.

The 32-year-old Neymar, who plays for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, stated that PSG’s performances in crucial games were impacted by inflated egos in a podcast hosted by World Cup champion Romario that was published on Thursday.

During his two years at PSG, Messi shared a dressing room with Neymar and Mbappe, making the three of them some of the most talked-about players in world football at the time, both for their on-field exploits and their rumored off-field relationships within the team.

Romário questioned if Mbappé, who joined Real Madrid this season, “is annoying.” That’s when Neymar made his remarks.

“No, he isn’t. We got into a little argument, but when he came, he was essential to us. I have my belongings with him. I referred to him as Golden Boy. I always told him he was going to be one of the greatest when we played together. Neymar said, “I always helped, spoke to him, he came to my place, and we had dinner together.”

“We worked well together for a few years, but Messi’s arrival made him a bit envious. He didn’t want me to be apart from anybody. After that, there were several altercations and a shift in conduct,” the Brazilian athlete said.

Notably, Mbappe joined PSG from Monaco in 2017, the same year Neymar made one of the largest moves in soccer history, moving from Barcelona to the French team.

Both were acquired while the team pursued its first Champions League championship, which it has not yet achieved. Neymar did not identify anybody, but he said that the squad often suffered because of inflated egos.

Neymar and Mbappe were instrumental in PSG’s incredible Champions League run in 2020, which saw them get to the final before losing to Bayern Munich.

“Having an ego is OK, but you must understand that you are not playing alone. You must be accompanied by another man. There were a lot of (large) egos, so it couldn’t work,” Neymar said.

“If nobody runs and nobody helps, it is impossible to win anything.”

When Neymar’s contract in Saudi Arabia ends in the middle of the year, he has not ruled out going back to Brazil.

Messi and Mbappe have not responded to Neymar’s remarks.