Kylian Mbappe offers a comparison rating Lionel Messi far above Neymar and himself

Kylian Mbappe did not hesitate to recognize the superiority of Lionel Messi over him and Neymar, sharing an anecdote from their time together at PSG. During the podcast The Bridge, alongside Aurelien Tchouameni and Achraf Hakimi, the French forward reflected on his experience with the Argentine and described him as “an abuse” because of his talent and ability on the field.

“It’s crazy, it’s not the same as Neymar, he does everything right. I’ll tell you an anecdote, we were doing finishing drills in Paris, Neymar and I were among the best, we scored six or seven out of ten, but he took nine shots and scored nine goals exactly the same, all perfectly placed, and I was looking at the goalkeeper like ‘don’t you see it?’, it’s exaggerated.”

The story not only illustrated Messi’s clinical precision but also the impact he generated even among players used to competing at the highest level. Mbappe’s comments reinforced an idea that had spanned generations, beyond titles or statistics, Messi’s legacy was also built on the admiration of his peers.

The Messi-Mbappe partnership

The connection between Mbappe and Messi at PSG lasted two seasons, from August 2021 to June 2023. During that span, they shared the field in 67 matches, winning two Ligue 1 titles and one French Cup.

The Argentine provided 14 assists to the current Real Madrid player, while the Frenchman returned 20 assists to the Inter Miami forward. Despite forming a powerful attacking trio alongside Angel Di Maria and Neymar, the team led by Mauricio Pochettino did not manage to secure the UEFA Champions League title.

Alongside them, Neymar remained another elite talent, and the chemistry between Messi and Neymar, carried over from their time in Barcelona, combined with Mbappe’s speed and explosiveness, made PSG the most-watched team in the world, producing more than 100 combined goals across all competitions.

However, despite the statistical output and attacking firepower, the trio did not achieve their ultimate objective of winning the UEFA Champions League. Neymar’s injuries at key moments, early round of 16 eliminations against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and the lack of defensive balance exposed the challenges of building a team around three superstars of that magnitude.