Messi and Suarez asked Neymar to stay at Barcelona before PSG move

The Brazilian superstar made a shock move to join the Parisians in 2017.

Luis Suarez opened up on his reaction to the news of Neymar’s departure from Barcelona in 2017.

Neymar formed a devastating attacking trio alongside Lionel Messi and Suarez at Barca. However, a €222m offer from Paris Saint-Germain saw him leave the Catalans to start a new chapter in his career at Parce des Princes.

Speaking to Placar, Suarez revealed he and Messi tried to convince Neymar to stay at Barca: “It hurt a lot for us as Neymar’s friends, because in pre-season, when we sat down to talk about it, he would tell us he wasn’t leaving.

“I didn’t like to talk about it much, but there came a time when it was too big of a deal, so we went to talk to Neymar and said: ‘Ney, if you want to win everything, stay here with us’. He would listen to us and say: ‘Yes, yes, yes, I want to stay’.

“But he has all the surroundings that are sometimes difficult to control. We, as friends, advised him to stay, but it’s his decision, his family’s decision.

“We said: ‘Neymar, England is better. [Manchester] City, the football will be better there. France?’.

“We then understood that French football had grown a lot, but at the time, we said the best thing was for him to stay, so when he made the decision, it stunned us because he was very important and it would be difficult to replace a player like him.”