Paris Saint-Germain will play at Guingamp today, and this match will see Neymar and Kylian Mbappe playing together for the first time this season. The Paris club, who have an ambition to conquer Europe, heavily rely on this duo.

Obviously all eyes were on them. This Friday morning, during the quarter of an hour of training opened to the media at the PSG training ground, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé continued showing their good chemistry. The star attackers, who were the last to leave the locker room, exchanged a few passes during the warm-up jog, right at the time when they were spotted by the cameras.

These good relations are not fake. Even before Mbappé's signing at PSG on August 31, 2017, Neymar was texting his future partner to encourage him to join the club. 

Text messages after every World Cup match

Since then, the two strikers whose age difference is seven years (Neymar is 26, while Mbappe is just 19) have had a healthy relationship. They sent messages to each other after each World Cup match. However, there are no bonds of a close frienship between them.

Off the field, Neymar will rather have a dinner with Daniel Alves, even with Thiago Silva, when Mbappé, more a stay-at-home type of person, is closer to his childhood friends. These two do not belong to the same ecosystem, even if they appreciate each other.

"Our relationship is based on mutual respect and admiration. Neymar told me he was happy for me (note: after the victory in the World Cup), and I believe it because he is really a good guy," explained Mbappé in an interview with France Football. "I am convinced that not much will change in our collaboration. Things are clear between us." They are clear, but maybe not fixed...

The Frenchman continues to flatter the Brazilian

A little less than a year ago, just after his signing with PSG, Mbappé had sworn allegiance to the former Barcelona player, explaining in an interview with the Le Parisien that he wanted to help him win the Ballon d'Or. Subsequently, the Frenchman tried to get closer and set up a good interaction with his elder teammate during games and also during training by exchanging jokes and playing small games.

A way for Mbappé to accelerate its integration, but also to reassure the "Ney" on his peaceful intentions. If we rely on his current words, the number 10 of Les Bleus continues in the same way. So when he names his list of candidates for Ballon d'Or, he calls his own name, leaves Griezmann out but does not forget Neymar...

Two stars, one Ballon d'Or...

However, Mbappe knows that his Brazilian teammate has a very small chance of winning the trophy, while Kylian himself became a real contender after the triumpf of Les Bleus at the World Cup. If the former Monegasque gets the biggest individual award, it could rebalance the influence of the two men in the locker room.

But what would be the reaction of Neymar who signed at PSG to win this award? Difficult to anticipate, even if the Brazilian would win nothing from declaring a war on his alter ego - when a modus vivendi, similar to Messi-Suarez at Barça or Ronaldo-Benzema at Real Madrid, already exists between the two men.

"I do not think that the Ballon d'Or is a topic between them, especially when I see them in training," confesses their coach Thomas Tuchel. In any case, they are aware that earning an individual award comes first and foremost through the commitment of the entire team and the ability to get along well with other teammates. And between world-class players, it goes without saying.

Source: Le Parisien