Former Chelsea and Man United target joins elite 20-man club with outrageous Paris Saint-Germain display

Joao Neves earned his first match ball with a stunning hat-trick for Paris Saint-Germain, but then received a gong even more glamorous.

The Portuguese midfielder had the first three-goal game of an already impressive career, but it wasn’t just any hat-trick.

4 Neves twice chested loose balls in the Toulouse box before unleashing a pair of sumptuous overhead kicks Credit: Getty

4 He then thumped in a long-range effort for one of the best hat-tricks you'll ever see Credit: AFP

The Man of the Match in a 6-3 win over Toulouse, Neves got the scoring underway with a lightning fast chest and overhead kick of a loose ball in the box in the seventh minute.

Neves’ teammates were already stunned, but he then repeated the feat seven minutes later from even further out, and later added his third with a long-range strike that curled away from the goalkeeper.

Toulouse added to an earlier goal from Englishman Charlie Cresswell to score two late consolation goals, but it took nothing away from a Neves performance that L’Equipe deemed legendary.

The leading European sports outlet is notorious for its tough player ratings, and in getting a 10/10, Neves becomes just the 20th player in history to do so.

The 20-year-old also becomes the second consecutive PSG player to get a 10/10, with the previous recipient Desire Doue who scored a hat-trick in the 2025 Champions League final.

L’Equipe first awarded a 10/10 in 1988 to France goalkeeper Bruno Martini who stunned in the European Under-21 final.

Since then the perfect scores have been few and far between, but there have been some famous recent examples.

Ademola Lookman couldn’t have got anything other than a 10/10 when he scored a hat-trick for Atalanta in the 2024 Europa League final against a previously unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen.

Erling Haaland’s five-goal display against RB Leipzig in the 2022/23 Champions League was also rewarded, as was Lucas Moura’s memorable Tottenham hat-trick in the semi-finals against Ajax in 2019.

On Neves’ part, his heroics were far less expected, having only scored seven times previously for the French giants.

4 Neves took L'Equipe's front page and got a rare 10/10 rating to go with it Credit: L'Equipe

The 20 players to earn a 10/10 L'Equipe rating Désiré Doué (PSG), 2024/25 – hat trick in the Champions League final

– hat trick in the Champions League final Denovan Léon (Auxerre), 2024/25 – the goalkeeper made 11 saves against PSG

– the goalkeeper made 11 saves against PSG Ademola Lookman (Atalanta), 2023/24 – hat trick in the Europa League final

– hat trick in the Europa League final Erling Haaland (Manchester City), 2022/23 – the Norwegian scored 5 goals against Leipzig in the Champions League

– the Norwegian scored 5 goals against Leipzig in the Champions League Dominik Livakovic (Croatia), World Cup 2022 – the goalkeeper was the hero in the penalties against Brazil

– the goalkeeper was the hero in the penalties against Brazil Erling Haaland (Manchester City), 2022/23 – the Norwegian scored a hat trick and provided two assists against Manchester United

– the Norwegian scored a hat trick and provided two assists against Manchester United Alban Lafont (Nantes), 2021/22 – the goalkeeper shone in the victory against PSG

– the goalkeeper shone in the victory against PSG Kylian Mbappé (France), 2022 World Cup qualifiers – the forward scored four goals in the rout against Kazakhstan

– the forward scored four goals in the rout against Kazakhstan Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), 2019/20 – scored four goals against Tottenham in the Champions League

– scored four goals against Tottenham in the Champions League Lucas (Tottenham), 2018/19 – the Brazilian scored a hat trick in the Champions League semi-finals against Ajax

– the Brazilian scored a hat trick in the Champions League semi-finals against Ajax Dusan Tadic (Ajax), 2018/19 – the forward scored one goal and provided two assists against Rel Madrid in the Champions League round of 16

– the forward scored one goal and provided two assists against Rel Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 Neymar (PSG), 2017/18 – the Brazilian scored four goals and provided two assists in the rout against Dijon

– the Brazilian scored four goals and provided two assists in the rout against Dijon Carlos Eduardo (Nice), 2014/15 – the Brazilian scored five goals against Guingamp

– the Brazilian scored five goals against Guingamp Robert Lewandowski (Dortmund), 2012/13 – the Pole scored four goals against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals

– the Pole scored four goals against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 2011/12 – the Argentine scored five goals against Leverkusen in the Champions League round of 16

– the Argentine scored five goals against Leverkusen in the Champions League round of 16 Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 2009/10 – the Argentine scored four goals against Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals

– the Argentine scored four goals against Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals Lars Windfeld (Aarthus), 1997/98 – the goalkeeper shone in the UEFA Cup

– the goalkeeper shone in the UEFA Cup Franck Sauzée (France), 1988 European Under-21 final – scored two goals against Greece

– scored two goals against Greece Bruno Martini (France), 1988 European Under-21 final – shone in goal against Greece

Speaking post-match, he said: "It's my first hat-trick in my career. I'm going to ask all my teammates to sign the ball. It's something I want to remember] in my career.”

Explaining his overhead double, he added: "When I started playing football, I was a number 9. So it's something I'm capable of doing.

“I tried it in training, I tried it on the beach... Here, the balls were perfect for doing them."

Manager Luis Enrique was impressed, but also wants more from his star Portuguese.

"It's not just about scoring three goals, it's about the style too," the Spaniard commented.

"I hope it will give him confidence. He can score even more goals, he has the quality for that. He's a young player but with a lot of quality. We have a lot of hope for him."

4 Neves was long linked with United and Chelsea, but chose PSG before winning the Champions League with them Credit: Getty

Neves only joined PSG last summer, with the French side beating Manchester United and Chelsea for his signature.

Joining in a £60million deal from talent factory Benfica, Neves quickly proved worth the money as he excelled at the Parc des Princes.

Playing 52 games in his debut campaign, Neves helped PSG to their first-ever Champions League crown, completing a European double with Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France.

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