'I'll never forget it' Neymar opens up about meeting Maradona



Neymar scored twice for PSG on their Wednesday Champions League match against Manchester United which ended in a 3-1 victory for the Parisians. While the Brazilian star has been famous for over a decade now, his first meeting with Diego Maradona dates back to his time as a young teenager when he was playing for Santos. The 28-year-old has remembered this exchange in a recent interview with Eleven Sports.

"I had just a few contacts with Maradona, but I'll never forget the one when I was 12 or 13 years old,

"I was just starting at Santos and I went to watch a show match between Brazil and Argentina - a game between former players.

"As the Brazilian team's bus were already full, I couldn't go with them, so they put me onto Argentina's bus. There were two guys highlighted in there, because they were sitting in the first seats: they were [Alejandro] Mancuso and Maradona.

"So they put me alongside them and treated me very well. So well that, when we arrived in the stadium, they took me to Argentina's locker room and onto the field.

"I even have a photo with Maradona, from when I was a little. He called me over to take that picture. I'll never forget his gesture.

"On the pitch he was an icon for everybody, sure. For me as well, but I've always respected him as an athlete and as a footballer. I will never forget that." 

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