Ligue 1 preview: Eclipsed by Kylian Mbappe, Neymar faces a difficult second season at Paris Saint-Germain

PSG are still the biggest story in town, but Neymar isn't any longer

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar will lead PSG this summer (Getty)

If Neymar was wondering how Kylian Mbappe’s stunning breakthrough at the World Cup would affect his own standing at Paris Saint-Germain, a publicity photograph released by the club in late July gave him an indication.

In the composite picture, five PSG players wearing the club’s new all-white away kit look across the frame in various states of athletic anticipation. Neymar is positioned centrally, but he is just behind Mbappé, the teenager’s left arm hooked over the Brazilian’s right as if the pair were jostling for position at a corner and Mbappé has stolen a march on his marker.

As a World Cup winner, and the player whose thrilling display against Argentina in the last 16 electrified the tournament, Mbappé has returned to Paris with a new status and his club have been quick to capitalise on it.

Mbappe has become the pride of a nation (REUTERS)

Last season’s PSG away shirt was the Neymar shirt – Brazil-yellow, it sold out in a month as ‘NEYMAR 10’ jerseys were torn from the rails – but the new shirt is Mbappé’s. PSG built the publicity campaign for the kit around the 19-year-old’s decision to change squad numbers, from 29 to seven, and his image has been plastered across their social media channels.

While the World Cup proved the making of Mbappé, Neymar returned from Russia diminished, his tournament reduced to a series of mocking memes. A beaten quarter-finalist with Brazil, he seems no closer to winning the Ballon d’Or than when he joined PSG in that game-changing €222 million transfer from Barcelona a year ago.

On the pitch, at least, his first season in France was a huge success.

Prior to breaking his foot against Marseille in February, Neymar had blown through Ligue 1 like a whirlwind, scoring 19 goals and supplying 13 assists in only 20 appearances. There were dazzling dribbles and fantastic free-kicks, rabonas and rainbow flicks, and he contributed to a clean sweep of France’s domestic trophies. Yet the Parc des Princes withheld its love.

It started with ‘Penaltygate’, the unedifying spot-kick squabble with Edinson Cavani during a 2-0 win over Lyon that laid bare the lack of harmony between Neymar and his hard-working Uruguayan team-mate, who is adored by PSG’s fans. When Neymar seized the ball to take a late penalty in an 8-0 rout of Dijon in January, having already scored a hat-trick and with Cavani needing one goal to become the club’s outright leading all-time scorer, he was jeered by his own supporters.

PSG’s fans already felt a bit uneasy about the special treatment that the club appeared to afford its star turn, notably allowing Neymar to make a mid-season trip to Brazil, and matters were not helped when, after his injury, he seemed more concerned about getting fit for the World Cup than returning to action with PSG.

Neymar did nothing to improve his reputation in Russia this summer (AFP/Getty)

Despite recurrent rumours linking him with a return to Spain, for now he is staying put. “The press love to create rumours, but everyone knows how much I care about PSG,” he said last month.

Thomas Tuchel, PSG’s new coach, seems determined not to repeat the errors made by his predecessor, Unai Emery, who failed to find common ground with Neymar. A tactile coach in the Jürgen Klopp mould, Tuchel thinks nothing of throwing his arms around Neymar in training and could be seen playfully planting his knee into the Brazilian’s thigh after PSG were presented with the Trophée des Champions following last weekend’s 4-0 win over Monaco in China.

“I’m very sure that I have a connection with him and I’m very sure that I need to have a connection with these kinds of players,” said Tuchel, whose side begin their Ligue 1 campaign at home to Caen on Sunday. “He’s an outstanding player. It’s always a big challenge to bounce back and I will help him with that.”

Buffon is PSG's only signing so far this summer (Getty)

PSG have made only one signing, bringing in Gianluigi Buffon after his departure from Juventus, but they remain overwhelming title favourites and are once again likely to be judged on their progress in the Champions League.

The strongest domestic challenges will come from Bruno Génésio’s young Lyon team and beaten Europa League finalists Marseille, both of whom are trusting in continuity, as well as last season’s runners-up Monaco, who are experiencing another summer of upheaval.

There will be much interest, meanwhile, in events at Nice, where Patrick Vieira begins his first stint as head coach of a European club. As Neymar can testify, when a World Cup winner shows up, everyone turns to look.