Messi and Neymar first became good friends during their time at Barcelona. The pair won eight trophies together with the Catalan giants, including a Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey treble during their historic 2014-15 campaign, and formed the electric 'MSN' forward line alongside Luis Suarez. Their partnership came to a temporary end in 2017 when Neymar made a world-record move to PSG, though Messi would eventually join his old team-mate in Paris after leaving Barcelona as a free agent in 2021.
They both left France in 2023, with Messi moving to Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami and Neymar joining Al-Hilal in what turned out to be a two-year spell ravaged by injury. The 34-year-old has since returned to Santos in his native Brazil and helped his boyhood club avoid relegation in the 2025 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A season.
The latest example of their strong friendship arrived when Neymar sent three replica Santos jerseys to Messi and his three sons, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, with a post on social media quickly going viral.
The post from Santos reads: “From Neymar Jr. to Lionel Messi. From the Prince to the Genius.
"The Sacred Mantle, of immeasurable value, with the number immortalised by the King. 10 for Neymar. 10 for Messi. 10 for Pelé. An infinite legacy in the history of soccer.
"Greetings from Vila Belmiro, Lionel Messi!"
