“ I will never forget his gesture ”: Neymar opens up when he met Maradona as a teenager

Neymar opened an unforgettable first meeting with Diego Maradona by paying tribute to the winner of the 1986 World Cup, died of a heart attack last week.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward scored twice on Wednesday night while guiding his team towards a 3-1 win over Manchester United in t he Champions League.

While Neymar has been a household name for over a decade, the Brazilian star crossed paths with Maradona as he was just beginning to show his promise for Santos.

Neymar will never forget one of their first exchanges with Maradona doing everything possible to make the child feel welcome and even make sure the duo take a picture together.

“I had little contact with Maradona, but I will never forget the one from when I was 12 or 13,” Neymar said. Eleven sports.

“I was starting in Santos and I went to see an exhibition match between Brazil and Argentina, a match between former players.

“As the Brazilian team bus was already full, I couldn’t go with them, so they put me on the Argentina bus. There were two types highlighted here, as they were seated in the front seats: they were [Alejandro] Mancuso and Maradona.

“So they put me next to them and they treated me very well. So when we got to the stadium they took me to the Argentina locker room and onto the pitch.

“I even have a photo with Maradona when he was little. He called me to take this picture. I will never forget his gesture.

“On the pitch he was an icon for everyone, of course. For me too, but I have always respected him as an athlete and as a footballer. I’ll never forget”.

Neymar is no stranger to talented Argentine footballers and expressed his wish to play with Lionel Messi again Wednesday evening.

The duo have spent four seasons together at Barcelona and the PSG forward has said he is due to meet again next season with Messi’s expiring contract at Camp Nou.