Paris Saint-Germain saw the trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., and Kylian Mbappé last 51 minutes following the 22-year-old’s exit due to an injury. Despite the handful of minutes on the pitch together, many pundits are beginning to discuss whether these three can co-exist.
After PSG’s 1-1 draw against Club Brugge, BT Sport (via Canal Supporters) pundit Rio Ferdinand shared his opinion on the matter. The former Manchester United defender’s statement appears to believe it can work if the three players iron out their warts.
“If you put support right behind them, if you get the right mix with Verratti, Gueye, Wijnaldum, these are players who run and who can pass the ball to the big players in front who can cause damage. Yes, sometimes you expect a little work from them, coming back, but I saw Neymar do it,” Ferdinand said.
“Mbappé is young enough to be able to do it. He has to. I think it’s in Pochettino’s mandate to require it from his players. This distinguishes good managers from great ones. Can you get these guys that people think they don’t want to work to work?”
Ferdinand went on to say the challenges that face the three players as they look to gel together.
“There have been too many occasions where they haven’t worked hard enough. That is the problem. I just believe that if Messi comes here, Mbappé will be like, ‘I have to show Messi what I’m worth,'” Ferdinand said.
“Neymar, when he played for Barcelona with Messi, was a phenomenal runner when he didn’t have the ball. We like to think that they can come back to their matches. If so, it’s going to be difficult for everyone else.”
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