Yahoo Sports Mbeumo and Wissa: Why our friendship is so special
As they enjoy another pre-season together, Brentford forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa reminisce, reflect and discuss what makes their partnership, which is now unequivocally an unbelievably strong friendship, so special.
The pair, who are currently in Portugal with the Bees preparing for the upcoming Premier League campaign, have a bond which transcends what they do on the pitch and has undoubtedly helped their goalscoring exploits in recent seasons.
Mbeumo and Wissa were involved in 30 league goals between them last term, and have combined for eight since playing together for the first time in 2021.
And the team-mates, who, it’s safe to say, can now just be described as mates, explain why they are so close on and off the pitch.
“We just want to have a good journey together,” Wissa explains. “We have a similar mindset: a football career is short and we just want to enjoy every minute.
“Even when it’s tough sometimes, we will always encourage each other to keep going and to be happy every day.
“But he is jealous of me sometimes… about everything! This morning, he came to me and said, ‘Oh your sliders are nice, I want the same!’. But, honestly, we are both easy, that makes a difference.
“As well as that, we come from pretty much the same background and now we are both playing in Africa for DR Congo and Cameroon. I feel like that makes us enjoy this journey even more.
“Bryan is more than my team-mate, he’s my friend now. That’s the thing.”
“Bryan is more than my team-mate, he’s my friend now. That’s the thing'
Mbeumo added: “We are both happy all the time - or at least most of the time! We always want to make jokes and do silly things together. That is a big part of our relationship.
“We have a really good relationship off the pitch, he’s now living one house down from me - he just wants to be next to me all the time!
“We are good friends and this helps us a lot on the pitch, it’s easy with him to talk about everything.
"We discuss what could have been better, how we can progress, and how to avoid any mistakes.”
The duo are likely to be lining up alongside each other when Brentford face Benfica at Estádio da Luz in an exciting pre-season fixture on Thursday.
And both Wissa and Mbeumo can’t wait to take on a side they both believe is one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Wissa stated: “Benfica is one of the best teams in Portugal - as well as Porto and Sporting - and one of the best teams in the world. The stadium will be amazing, hopefully it will be a good game.
“I don’t really mind what the score is, it’s just important that everyone stays fit and everyone is ready to go for the new season.
“I want to get some minutes in the bank so I’m ready for the Premier League, and I’m happy to be here in Portugal to do that - the weather is nice, we’ve got very good facilities, it’s fantastic.”
Mbeumo said: “Benfica is one of the most iconic clubs in the world and it’s a great, great stadium.
“I hope it’s a full stadium on Thursday - that’ll be a fantastic experience for us, and especially for the younger players that are with us.
“It will be an exciting test that will prepare us well for the Premier League season.”
Unable to make it to Portugal? Download the Brentford FC app to stream the Bees' pre-season friendly against Benfica live from 8pm.
