The natural successor: Has Neymar blown it?
- Thread starter Fortitude
- Start date
Like everyone has said injuries and the PSG move. The PSG move really was a killer because like Pep at Bayern, unless he was winning the CL, his trophies or stats would be downplayed.
It was a really stupid move and one that will hurt his legacy. Neymar has been an afterthought for the last 3 seasons, I just think of his injuries and antics which is such a disappointment because he could have challenged the Messi and Ronaldo of the last two years.
It was a really stupid move and one that will hurt his legacy. Neymar has been an afterthought for the last 3 seasons, I just think of his injuries and antics which is such a disappointment because he could have challenged the Messi and Ronaldo of the last two years.
Unfortunately this.
He’s absolutely world class, been on fire since his return to injury.
he obviously went to PSG for the money at first and then didn’t feel settled, but now he’s enjoying it especially with mbappe.
for me he’s still the 3rd best player in the world IMO, he can do absolutely everything.
he obviously went to PSG for the money at first and then didn’t feel settled, but now he’s enjoying it especially with mbappe.
for me he’s still the 3rd best player in the world IMO, he can do absolutely everything.
This. Playing for PSG a lot of people don't see him every week and injuries prevented him from leaving a mark on CL
He's still easily a top 3 player in the world
Neymar going to PSG shows a lack of ambition and playing in a farmer's league will negatively impact on how he is viewed, as a star of the game.
He has been overtaken by the talent of Mbappe, who instead plays for the great PSG, in one of Europe's top leagues.
He has been overtaken by the talent of Mbappe, who instead plays for the great PSG, in one of Europe's top leagues.
Haven’t seen him play in a long time. Only really see PSG in the CL and he’s always injured when it matters. Honestly forget about him until he’s brought up on here.
He's as good as Ronaldinho. It's just that between injuries at the wrong time(WC 2014, last two years), playing in Messi's shadow, and moving to a league that is an afterthought to the rest of the world while in his prime, he's not managed to receive the accolades he deserves
I see people saying him going PSG was a coward way out etc. Yes huge money was involved but I don't think it was just that - he wanted to step into his own realm. At Barca he had Messi and in La Liga in general he had Ronaldo as well. But ultimately he could never be classified as the best or having done something 'leading from the front' if he still played with Messi alongside him.
He went PSG because they offered him the world and said he can take them to glory. They then signed the best thing since sliced bread in football in Mbappe. Neymar with his injuries etc. fell off a bit but that's not his fault too much.
I am sure if Juve, us even, Bayern, City, Chelsea etc. offered what PSG did he'd have gone there instead.
But he went PSG as they did what was required and he must have genuinely believed he could take them to CL glory and officially be the main man for a club. I think it shows ambition than just hanging around at Barca
He went PSG because they offered him the world and said he can take them to glory. They then signed the best thing since sliced bread in football in Mbappe. Neymar with his injuries etc. fell off a bit but that's not his fault too much.
I am sure if Juve, us even, Bayern, City, Chelsea etc. offered what PSG did he'd have gone there instead.
But he went PSG as they did what was required and he must have genuinely believed he could take them to CL glory and officially be the main man for a club. I think it shows ambition than just hanging around at Barca
Not gonna lie, there've been moments in the last months where I genuinely forgot Neymar existed. His injuries and the fact he's at PSG hasn't helped.
Only if he signs another contract. He's 21 now and will be 23 when his current one expires.
Concur. As @Invictus also pointed out, the organic window to slip in is minute, even if everything had gone smoothly, because Messi being superior in every way is/was not going to abate unless he: lost his hunger; got a serious injury or simply declined significantly enough via ageing and those things might not happen at all whilst Neymar is still in his own athletic prime, which would be a crazy longevity on Messi's part if that were to be the case.
Yup.
Mbappé is literally in the same team as him and is now seen as the 'successor' in the same way Neymar once was.
The main issue for Neymar was the 220m cash needed to buy his contract, no one else has or had that type of money outside of PSG and City because on their owners are willing to give up on that type of money.
I think Neymar will end up back at Madrid or Barcelona in the next few years and there become the world's best player. He's only behind 2 freaks that are competing for best of all time.
Some things have conspired against him. He gets injured in the World Cup and Brazil crumble without him. If he had won that, his case for the place at the top of the chain would have been strengthened considerably. A similar thing happened last summer, he gets injured again before the Copa America and Brazil win that, so he is denied that glory as well. He also missed at least one of PSG's successful cup finals, although I believe he did turn up and get a medal.
Moving to PSG, clearly for money, was a career mistake, depending on whether he wants to be seen as the absolute best. If he just wants to be happy and win things, then PSG is as good a place as any. But as people said, with Mbappe there, he won't ever become their undisputed no.1 guy either.
Moving to PSG, clearly for money, was a career mistake, depending on whether he wants to be seen as the absolute best. If he just wants to be happy and win things, then PSG is as good a place as any. But as people said, with Mbappe there, he won't ever become their undisputed no.1 guy either.
He looks like somebody who doesnt like competition..
As everyone said at the time, moving to PSG was moving to irrelevance in the grand scheme of things for Neymar. Nobody cares anymore about what he did football wise. On top of that, he got injured for the 2 games a year they play that people pay attention to... so yeah.
Had he stayed in Barcelona, went to another giant club in Europe, it would be different. He would be top 3 every year. Not the case though. Mbappe is great as well, but the same will apply to him until he leaves PSG, unless he leads them to a CL title.
Had he stayed in Barcelona, went to another giant club in Europe, it would be different. He would be top 3 every year. Not the case though. Mbappe is great as well, but the same will apply to him until he leaves PSG, unless he leads them to a CL title.
But that's my point. Nobody else did/could come in for him. So people blaming him going to PSG to be the main man is hardly his fault. It was there or forever officially remain in Messi's shadow
He would’ve relished the kind of challenge we have today...
Mbappe will be the one we're all talking about as the best in a couple years I think. Probably needs to move to Madrid or Barca though.
In this thread, butthurt PL fans who think anything that happens outside of the PL and La Liga is irrelevant
I was adding to your point.
Ha, oh right, apologies!
I do think technically and on his day Neymar is unplayable but they seem to be less frequent or hear about it less. I imagine he will ask to go back to Barca again in the summer though
He was better than Ronaldo for a while at Barcelona for me. And very close to MESSI at that time too.
People aren't machines and don't have linear career trajectories. The whole idea of him taking on the mantle from Messi relied on Messi having enough of a decline, and Neymars own career continuing on an uninterrupted upward trajectory. Neither of those things have happened and they're both out of Neymar's control.
Now people are expecting Mbappe to be that guy, but you still don't know how long Messi will dominate, if Mbappe is lucky enough to avoid injuries and who's lurking around the corner to take football by storm next.
Now people are expecting Mbappe to be that guy, but you still don't know how long Messi will dominate, if Mbappe is lucky enough to avoid injuries and who's lurking around the corner to take football by storm next.
You hear about it less but he is almost always unplayable, he is one of these players that rarely picks the wrong option and his technique is always on point. The only effective way to stop him is to kick him otherwise he makes you look like a mug.
Just wanted to throw this in here as it was referenced as one of the reasons Neymar moved to France and it was a pretty bold move of him if it was a factor in his decision.
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/so-can-neymar-do-a-maradona-and-lead-psg-to-glory.431239/
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/so-can-neymar-do-a-maradona-and-lead-psg-to-glory.431239/
Moving from Barca to PSG doesn't exactly seem like the move of someone who loves football.
Either that or he was naive enough to think that his arrival would spark the French league into relevance.
What smart career moves has Messi made?
Playing for Barcelona doesn't show that you love football, PSG are a football club too that has hosted some of the best players and winning the CL with them would be a great achievement.
Exposure wise we don't see anything of him week to week due to not a lot of people bothering with Ligue 1 compared to La Liga.
We just see him in the CL and even then everybody is talking about Mbappe now instead.
He nearly always seems to be injured as well.
We just see him in the CL and even then everybody is talking about Mbappe now instead.
He nearly always seems to be injured as well.
Why do you think he is better than Mbappe or as good as Ronaldinho? Maybe I can't be fair when it comes to Ronaldinho because he is my favourite player, but he won the CL nearly alone for Barca? Maybe he wasn't world class for years, but he was the best player in the world, Neymar was not until now. Mbappe is the more dangerous and direct player in my opinion....
Neymar was maybe a bit too close in age with Messi to really be a true successor and people didn't expect Messi and Ronaldo to be so good in their 30s. Their careers have had massive overlap and even played with each other for a while. Since Messi is only 32, you'd be looking more at players in Mbappe's age group to be the successors. Neymar has been against Messi for individual trophies for a lot of his peak.
Mbappe is closer in age to Neymar than Neymar is to Messi and there's a more natural generation jump there. When Mbappe is in his peak, Messi will be well past his best.
Mbappe is closer in age to Neymar than Neymar is to Messi and there's a more natural generation jump there. When Mbappe is in his peak, Messi will be well past his best.
Because I have watched them play together and Neymar is the better player. Neymar is a better playmaker, the better passer, the better dribbler and has a better shooting technique. Mbappé is also very good at all of these things but less consistent.
I have watched some games too - maybe not as many as you but some. I agree that Neymar is the better playmaker and the better passer but when it comes to dribbling I disagree - maybe Neymar can do more with the ball but Mbappe is more dangerous in my opinion because of his speed with the ball. Maybe Neymar has the better shooting technique but Mbappe is the better finisher. Maybe I have too watch more PSG games, but if I could chose one now it would be Mbappe without question. Never thought Neymar is outstanding like Ronaldo or Messi, just a top player and not even the best behind these two.
Um...yeah sure.
And the fact that he has many periods over a season where he doesn't perform to outstanding level at all and periods where he ignores some unimportant stuff like playing football to attend important stuff like his sister"s birthday in the middle of season.
You see that's where I think that there is something properly wrong with the way people see Neymar, he was a prolific goalscorer at Barcelona and is Brazil third top goalscorer of all time and he doesn't play as a striker. He is a world class finisher and of course a better dribbler than Mbappé, he is also very fast, we are not talking about a slow player here.
That hasn't happened with PSG and I don't remember it happening with Barcelona.
Well, maybe "many" is overreaction, but he's had periods where Mbappe was the one carrying that team when I watched PSG.