Barcelona lost Neymar to Ligue 1 giants PSG over the summer, with Unai Emery’s side shelling out £198m to sign him from their La Liga counterparts.
The Brazil international already looks good value for money, scoring five goals from his first six games and striking up a good partnership with Kylian Mbappe.
However, the 25-year-old made the headlines for all the wrong reasons at the weekend, clashing with team-mate Edinson Cavani over a penalty and a free kick.
And Spanish outlet Diario Gol say Messi always thought controversies would engulf Neymar once he decided to swap Catalonia for France.
The two enjoyed four years together, helping Barcelona win La Liga twice and the Champions League in the process.
Many thought Messi’s form would dip with Ernesto Valverde’s side theoretically weaker without Neymar in their ranks.
But Diario Gol say that was not the case.
Messi is reportedly unsurprised by Neymar’s appetite to cause disruption given how much he wanted to be Barcelona’s main man.
He was aware of how much the Brazilian wanted to overthrow him in the dressing room – despite the duo publicly insisting they got along.
Additionally, Messi is reportedly happier without his former team-mate at the club.
Without Neymar threatening to usurp him, the 30-year-old has taken La Liga by storm.
Messi already has nine goals for the campaign from just five games, and scored four as Barcelona beat Eibar 6-1 at the Nou Camp on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, and Cavani have been told they will have a new bonus structure that will encourage them to work together more, according to The Sun.
The pair clashed during PSG’s 2-0 win over Lyon on Sunday while squabbling over who should take penalties and free kicks.
And the selfish circus took place in full glare of the watching crowd, as world record signing Neymar pleaded to take a penalty, but Cavani won the argument.
The Uruguayan lost the battle of wits over the spot kick though, as he blazed his effort against the bar.
It was an embarrassing turn of events, that followed a spat to decide who should take a free kick.
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