Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro has revealed he wishes that international teammate Neymar would have joined him at the Bernabeu when transfer speculation arose in the summer.
The pair have often played against each other as rivals either in El Clásico when Neymar was at Barcelona, or in Champions League meetings between Los Blancos and PSG. But that hasn’t stopped Casemiro from wanting his Brazilian counterpart to join him in the Spanish capital.
Neymar has been recognised as one of the finest forwards in world football for a number of years now, and that hasn’t changed this season despite the fact he has only made 14 league appearances. In those 14 games, he has scored 13 and assisted six, helping PSG to a ten point lead over Marseille in Ligue 1.
Speaking to Marca, Casemiro revealed that he was keen for Neymar to make the move back to Spain, saying: “I wanted him to come to Madrid. I talk to him almost every day.”
The midfielder then went on to compare the winger to French wonderkid Kylian Mbappe, who had also been linked with a move to Real in the summer, saying (via Football Espana): “Both of them are two explosive players that are totally different.”
Different they are, and some may argue that Mbappe has a higher ceiling – and all signs point to the Frenchman being the one player Real Madrid would love to sign more than anyone else. And that includes Neymar.