Neymar insists leaving Barcelona for Paris St Germain will not be the death of his career after making an instant impact for his new club.
The Brazil forward marked his first game since completing a world-record €222million (£200.6million) move with a goal and an assist as PSG cruised to a 3-0 win at Guingamp.
Some critics have argued that leaving Barcelona for Ligue 1 is a step down, but the 25-year-old is happy with his decision.
“I knew it would be very difficult to leave Barca but I am very happy to be here,” he said in quotes reported by L’Equipe.
“People think that you die after leaving Barca, but no, it’s the opposite. I’m more alive than ever, I play, I’m very happy. The country, the city and the team change, but football is the same.”
After Jordan Ikoko’s own goal gave PSG a 52nd-minute lead, Neymar brilliantly set up Edinson Cavani to make it 2-0 before opening his account for the club with a simple close-range finish with eight minutes left.
Neymar believes he and his team-mates can only get better.
“It’s always important to score, and I hope to score more, but I want to help the team win even more, first and foremost,” he told his new club’s website.
“We played well, scored goals and we’re satisfied with the game. We linked up well on the pitch, we’re going to continue getting to know each other. There are quality players, it’s a great team.
“I knew (Cavani) was a top, top player and that we would have an understanding. We are continuing to get to know each other, but it’s easy to play with him and Angel ( Di Maria ).
“We’re going to keep getting better.”
PSG boss Unai Emery was pleased with his new signing’s start to life in the French capital.
He told psg.fr: “He’s a great player. Great players always find each other and are happy to play together. There are a lot of them in this team.
“We put in the great performance we wanted to.”
