Neymar’s transfer to Paris Saint-Germain: Has the Brazilian taken the right decision?

End of the soap opera

Finally, more than a week-long speculation and plenty of drama came to an end yesterday regarding Neymar’s transfer saga to PSG. Neymar arrived on training session last Wednesday and told about his intentions to leave Barcelona to his friends. But, it remained just as an intention but not official declaration as the move to PSG could not move further due to buy-out clause and then, the block initiated by La Liga officials. But yesterday, everything was solved.

According to Marca, “The Neymar soap opera is finally resolved after his entourage of lawyers appeared on Thursday afternoon in the offices of the Camp Nou to pay the 222 million euro payment to secure his release.

 These are the same legal representatives who, during the morning, went to the headquarters of the LFP in Madrid and could not pay the clause because of a refusal by the organisation to accept the money.According to Barcelona, the payment has already been made and the entity will transfer the details of the operation to UEFA ‘so that they can take disciplinary responsibilities that may arise from this case’.

The Catalans are convinced that it is impossible for this operation to take place without PSG breaking the rules of financial fair play.

In any case, Neymar will soon be a Paris Saint-Germain player”.

World record transfer

 Neymar’s transfer has created history and it’s  all about a footballer who costs more than a quarter of a billion dollars. That's the combination of Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo with enough left over to cover their wages until Christmas. The whole matter is in between the game-changing mode from PSG and colossal blunder by the folks who have more money in the banks than sense. But the deal is done and time will tell how worthy it can be.

A setback for FC Barcelona? 

Neymar’s transfer soap opera has made Barcelona a butt of joke and this is the third time a buy out clause has to be trigged regarding the transfer of a footballer. In 1997, Inter Milan showed up with 27 million US dollars – a record during that time – to sign Ronaldo el Fenomeno and three years later, Real Madrid made off with Luis Figo for 74 million US dollars. Certainly, 262 million US dollars hurts and the breakdown of deadly MSN combination hurts more than anything.  

Neymar and Luis Suarez brought dynamism in Camp Nou and along with Lionel Messi, they created history. For a period the absence of Neymar would be felt, but Barcelona are a club which have achieved bigger things without Neymar in the past. Arnesto Valverde, the tactician, would have enough freedom now to reshuffle his plans. Barcelona won’t stop from achieving bigger things. 

The historic club have bagged a huge amount of cash and with this cash they can buy the players to fill the space created by Neymar's move to Paris. Yes, another Neymar might not be available, but the likes of Philippe Coutinho can move to Camp Nou and set the stage on fire as Bucchioni said to Tutto Macetto Web, "With €222m in hand, to be spent, Barcelona are knocking on multiple doors and talking with more players. Liverpool are set to miss [lose] Coutinho. The deal with the player is there. The English have said no to €100m (£90m), but the offer will rise soon [to] around €120m (£108m). Still [they] cannot say no.

But Coutinho cannot be enough, the other great goal is [Paulo] Dybala. No secret, [the] Argentinean has always been liked. Barcelona prepares a bid of €120m (£108m)".

Why Neymar left?

Even last year, it was supposed, Neymar will continue his career in Barcelona until 2021, but what actually prompted the Brazilian sensation to leave Camp Nou remains a moot question.

An intriguing theory was suggested by Spanish journalist Raymon Besa at Spanish Newspaper El Pais on August 2, 2017.  In March, Barcelona achieved one of the most remarkable comebacks in Champions League history as three goals in the final seven minutes secured a sensational 6-5 aggregate victory over PSG.

Neymar was the driving force on that historic night at Paris as he showcased a brilliant performance by scoring the first two of those late goals before assisting Sergi Roberto's winner with a perfectly placed chipped cross.

The following day, he noticed, public and media’s emotions heavily surrounded around only Messi.  Lionel Messi in a Messiah-like pose, standing on the advertising boards to celebrate the victory as awestruck fans hailed his glory.

Perhaps, on that moment, Neymar decided enough was enough. He had just delivered the best performance of his career to inspire an amazing victory, and still everyone was talking about Messi.

This is just an opinion stemmed from a gut feeling and Leo’s farewell message to Neymar doesn’t give the impression that both have bitterness in between them.  But at the same time such a thought cannot be ignored as well. For an impulsive and at times pretty arrogant character, such sort of thoughts can crop up from a 25-year old flawed genius.

Perhaps, Neymar wanted to hog the limelight more and thus, chose to boost his morale more by playing in a club where he would be aided by his teammates and can demand centre attention on and off the pitch. He does not wnat to play the role of a second-fiddle anymore.

Is Neymar’s move to PSG the right decision?

In my opinion, Neymar’s decision to leave Barcelona ahead of the career-defining World Cup season, is not appropriate, as because, more than becoming the cntre of attraction, developing ourself for the challenges of mega event in Russia, La Liga would have given him the perfect platform to toughen him up.

At Ligue 1, the football is heavily dominated by PSG while the others are not as good as them. The defensive challenges are not as stifling as La Liga and in reality, PSG are not the best team in Europe. In terms of pace and attacking intent, they are nowhere near La Liga.

Neymar has developed into a competent footballer at Camp Nou under the shadow of Lionel Messi and the experience of Suarez, Anders Iniesta, Rakitic and co have only enriched his footballing armory. Again, the challenges posed by the dangerous Los Blancos and Cristiano Ronaldo and pragmatism of Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, helped Neymar to strengthen his skills each day.

At Ligue 1, there are no CR7, Marcelo, Jan Oblak, Felipe Luis to pose Neymar a threat and how can a footballer transform into a champion if he is not challenged? PSG are the only team in Ligue 1 who boast a strong defence while the Rojiblancos are the best in Europe when it comes about the tough nut to crack type of defence.

I, as a fan of Brazil, and one of the harsh critics of Lionel Messi, always wanted Neymar to come out of his shadows, but by not switching to a club which is not best in the world. Winning big trophies is not in the gene of PSG but teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid possess such. I wnated Neymar to overshdow Messi by playing at Barcelona. Neymar forgot, Messi would retire sooner or later and then he would automatically elevate himself as the best in the business at Camp Nou.    

Moreover, Zlatan Ibrahimovic switched to PSG and scored goals in plenty and his skills were relished, but when he faced the best in Europe, he was left stranded. There was a lot of difference between the Zlatan of Barcelona and PSG.

Champions grow in best clubs in the continent and not the best in a country.

A dented image

This transfer soap opera has dented Neymar’s image a lot. I have seen a lot of Brazilian leegnds to fly in Europe and created a long lasting impact on fans and critics. Since the days of Falcao at Roma, each decade witnessed the Brazilians to eanr accolades even if they join rival clubs, but for the first time in my life, I am witnessing a Brazilian superstar to earn a lot of hatred whereas, in case of Falcao, Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Dani Alves, only love and affection existed.

 In my opinion, Neymar has to bring the World Cup back to Rio. Even if he sets the Ligue 1 on fire, nothing will work to restore his image. All know, how easy will it be for him to demolish the French clubs. In that case, winning the World Club would be the only way to claim himself as the best footballer in the world and an all-time legend of the game.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar