How signing Neymar got to the point where Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG asked ‘is he worth the hassle?’
Injured again, with his best performances a thing of the past and an over-indulgence in the Parisian lifestyle, Europe’s best clubs are now asking if the bad outweighs the good with someone who should be the best footballer on the planet
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Your support makes all the difference.At one point over one of Neymar’s long injury lay-offs over the last two years, the Brazilian star was back in Brazil, completing one of his many commercial commitments. Except not quite completing it.
The star was supposed to only say a few words for an ad, but the wait to do so was taking far too long. Neymar eventually flounced off, nobody able to say anything to him. That was that.
A whole load of planning up went in the air. And it's why that is beginning to be that for many who deal with Neymar and - perhaps more relevantly - his wide entourage.
It’s a little story that touches on a lot of problems, particularly for Paris Saint-Germain.
Leonardo has returned there as sporting director and been given the greatest power over transfers, which he wants to use to stop his compatriot from leaving, but others at the club have significant doubts.
They’re wondering whether Neymar is worth the hassle.
PSG’s great coup, who was all set to be the next greatest player in the world, is in danger of becoming a great unfulfilled talent.
It already feels - at the age of 27 - like he’s significantly slipped behind many contemporaries in the last year or so, and not just because of injuries. There’s the wider context, that some also think does contribute to those injuries in some way. It’s a while since Neymar has been at his sharpest.
There is, after all, absolutely no doubt about his talent. He's "got it”. He probably is the next best after Lionel Messi, in terms of pure technical ability and basic control of the ball. It was one of the things that struck at last year’s World Cup. For all the dramatics around Neymar, and the theatrics he became notorious for, he was electrifying when he got on the ball. The single touches to take two defenders out of a game and put himself in prime position were particularly special.
Some of that energy has now been missing for some time, and there are questions about the application of that talent.
Most concerningly, those who have worked with him complain he just doesn’t train as hard. They worry this has been the gradual effect of indulging in an active social life in Paris, that he did get away with for some time.
Some of the most concerned will outright say there is a danger “Neymar’s career is unravelling”, and this was well before the accusations of rape that he denies. They feel he's just too distracted.
Along those lines, others describe the entourage around him as “a nightmare”, making it difficult to get close to him, or assert any kind of control.
“Relationships entirely based on trust evaporate because of the petulant behaviour of children,” one business source said.
Then there’s Neymar’s rather infantile application of that talent. It seems mostly used to humiliate teammates at training, although he doesn’t like it when he’s subjected to the same tricks. He's lashed out at younger colleagues for similar.
One PSG teammate who previously liked Neymar was recently privately asked by a journalist friend what the Brazilian is like. “A total prick,” was the instant response.
It is a spreading feeling. It is not universal, though.
Neymar is still very friendly with the key figures from the high point of his career, at Barcelona in the 2014/15 treble season. He shares a Whatsapp group with Messi and Luis Suarez.
That in itself reflects how he’s always had regrets about leaving Barcelona, and now wants to return to Spain.
This is the other side to it, after all. It’s not all about Neymar himself. Some of it is that a club like PSG - in a city like Paris, in a league like France’s, where the side are so far ahead of everyone else it’s so easy - isn’t the best for him. It has all meant an indulgence of the elements of his character that aren’t the best for his career. He generally doesn't need to follow tactical instructions, but that has cost them in big games. At Anfield in this season's Champions League group stage, Neymar's reluctance to do any kind of defensive work afforded Trent Alexander-Arnold the freedom of that flank, to be one of the game's most influential players.
There was a pointed quote in France Football from PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi on Monday.
“I want players that are ready to give everything to defend the honour of our shirt and who sign up to the club’s project. Those who do not want to, or do not understand it, we meet and we speak. There are of course contracts to respect, but the priority now is complete commitment to our project… Nobody forced him to sign here. Nobody pushed him to. He came with a full understanding of the cause to sign up to a project.”
The tone and emphasis of those quotes alone is curious.
Whether Barca still see him as the best for their project is another issue.
It is telling how quickly Real Madrid moved on. They saw Neymar as their number-one target for most of 2018, only for reports about his life to gradually put them off. They instead moved on to Eden Hazard, one of about 10 players who have probably surpassed Neymar in terms of performance and form over the last year.
What, after all, have the 27-year-old’s major performances been in the last year? One against Liverpool in the Champions League group stage? Is that it?
Barcelona themselves aren’t as keen as they used to be. They know the trouble. They remember 2017, and how infuriating they found it. They are also mindful that their greatest ever player is friends with Neymar.
If Messi were to push for his return, for example, it would be highly persuasive.
It could yet offer a solution, not least to Barcelona’s own problem with Philippe Coutinho.
And that points to something else. Coutinho is right now at the Copa America, which is being hosted by Brazil, and where Neymar’s very injury-enforced absence isn’t the huge issue it would have been in the past.
That says so much more than any words for any advert.
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