The natural successor: Has Neymar blown it?

How much money has he made out of the Saudi stint? Did he do anything at all in that league?

8 games in total I think and a lot of money! They're still on the hook for another 65m, which is why they want rid.
 
His Saudi stint has to be the most expensive in history considering he barely played. Saw a few highlights of one of his games and he looked way off the pace even there.

Santos return will be nice to see though
 
8 games in total I think and a lot of money! They're still on the hook for another 65m, which is why they want rid.
That’s insane. I saw one clip of him taking on half a team and then being cynically fouled, which I think was the foul that has seen him sidelined for months(?) but 8 games total is crazy.
 
Whenever I see any recent news about it'll just make more melancholic.

Such talent and for it all to be wasted so glaringly.

The sad thing is had he been able to keep fit he'd be able to string together a few Balon d'ors seeing how the big two or no longer in the picture.
 
Can't see him playing much more at Santos, a few sporadic appearances between injuries before he retires and goes into ownership and investment seems likely.
 
It's still a very odd notion to almost say "shame/pity" for the way his career has gone - considering what he's won, achieved & his talent level...but yeah, he should have at least wrapped up a couple of balon d'Ors....
 
Whenever I see any recent news about it'll just make more melancholic.

Such talent and for it all to be wasted so glaringly.

The sad thing is had he been able to keep fit he'd be able to string together a few Balon d'ors seeing how the big two or no longer in the picture.
What annoys me even more about his career is his explanation for moving to PSG. Winning the Balland'or wasn't a reason. In a recent interview he's stated that apart from the money, he wanted to play with his Brazilian pals at PSG, which is, a rather ridiculous way to throw your career down the drain. He was exceptional at PSG but that move was still a big mistake.
 
What annoys me even more about his career is his explanation for moving to PSG. Winning the Balland'or wasn't a reason. In a recent interview he's stated that apart from the money, he wanted to play with his Brazilian pals at PSG, which is, a rather ridiculous way to throw your career down the drain. He was exceptional at PSG but that move was still a big mistake.

He probably can't say the real reason which is all financial.
 
What annoys me even more about his career is his explanation for moving to PSG. Winning the Balland'or wasn't a reason. In a recent interview he's stated that apart from the money, he wanted to play with his Brazilian pals at PSG, which is, a rather ridiculous way to throw your career down the drain. He was exceptional at PSG but that move was still a big mistake.

Pretty sure it was financial and he didn't want to say that.
 
He probably can't say the real reason which is all financial.

Of course it was the money, the ammpount is insane now, at that moment surreal.

Yet at the same time a team with Verratti, Di Maria, Mbappe trully has a chance to win a CL. He also thought of that possibility too.
What it never happened there, it's to actually play more like a team and be more professional, by almost all of them at some point. Yet they were really really close to do it.
 
Another muppet. Good riddance. Went to psg for money and was immediately washed up. Pissed off to Brazil every year and averaged 17 league games a season - expecting us all to bow down if he managed to fluke a CL with them.

Detest this type of player and he in many ways he represents a generation of muppets. And yes im aware he had 4 good years at barca
 
I never got why he has so many people that almost hates him, he was and still such a great player to watch. Yeah not the best pro, not the worse one either and he had very real an serious injuries during his carreer too, everything it's not his sister birthday.
The ammount of hate he received so many times for me it's quite baffling.
Yet anyway, I guess some players get easier under the skin of many fans, dunno, I always like him quite a lot and he is a phenom of a talent.
 
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I have an irrational dislike of this guy. I hope he doesn't win the ballon d'or, but its looking very likely this year.

Realistically who are his competitors for Ballon d'or this year if PSG wins the CL?

Off the top of my head:

Mbappe (I think it will be between the two of them.)
Lewandowski (Looks bleak at this stage)
De Bruyne (Tough one. A dark horse here. Will need to win the CL and probably the Euros too)
Messi (I think he's done)
Ronaldo (Similar to Messi. Will need need Euros victory)
I wrote this back in 2021 after he dismantled Bayern over the two legs. Looking back, it’s a shame he never built on that momentum because I thought he was the best player in the world for that short period between 2020 to 2021. Realistically, 2021 was his best shot at a Ballon d’Or. Then Messi arrived that summer, and the PSG project was destined to fall apart.
 
I never got why he has so many poeple that almost hates him, he was and still such a great player to watch. Yeah not the best pro, not the worse one either and he had very real an serious injuries during his carrer too, everything it's not hsi sister birthday.
The ammount of hate he received so many times for me it's quite baffling.
Yet anyway, I guess some players get easier under the skin of many fans, dunno, I always like him quite a lot and he is a phenom of a talent.
Yeah I’ll never understand the hatred. We’ve seen so many players give less of a shit and be more problematic on and off the field who don’t anywhere near the grief Neymar does. He was a wonderful footballer and a joy to watch in full flight.
 
I can see us being in for him. A crock, overpaid, past-it forward with attitude issues has Manchester United written all over his destination ticket.
 
I wouldn't go as far as saying he blown it, he's had a better career than most footballers, could he have built on it and been better? Probably yeah, but you can say that about quite a few top Brazilian players.
 
Thread can be safely renamed to "Neymar has blown it" IMO.

Pretty much, he had 4 decent seasons at Barcelona, sold out to PSG where he barely played won nothing of note outside of France where PSG have a budget 5x the next biggest team. He's played 8 games since leaving them.

The €222m transfer and going to Saudi for the money but barely playing and pocketing 100m or whatever represents everything wrong with mercantilist modern football.
 
I wrote this back in 2021 after he dismantled Bayern over the two legs. Looking back, it’s a shame he never built on that momentum because I thought he was the best player in the world for that short period between 2020 to 2021. Realistically, 2021 was his best shot at a Ballon d’Or. Then Messi arrived that summer, and the PSG project was destined to fall apart.
I think he could have won one around 2016-2018 as well. His productivity was off the charts allied to that sensational creative and 1v1 game of his (had probably surpassed Messi in that sense by that point). For that title though, he needed to win, or at least produce a big set of performances in the CL or WC. Injuries at the wrong time killed that.
 
Another muppet. Good riddance. Went to psg for money and was immediately washed up. Pissed off to Brazil every year and averaged 17 league games a season - expecting us all to bow down if he managed to fluke a CL with them.

Detest this type of player and he in many ways he represents a generation of muppets. And yes im aware he had 4 good years at barca
Patently untrue. He was incredible for PSG. He just kept getting injured at inopportune moments.

Hyperbole with Neymar just never ends.
 
Candidate for worst ROI in sports history.

If he had remained with Barcelona the MSG trio would have become stuff of football legend. They were beyond incredible together.

Not hard to understand that the incredible amount of money PSG offered him lured him away, but a damn shame nonetheless
 
Patently untrue. He was incredible for PSG. He just kept getting injured at inopportune moments.

Hyperbole with Neymar just never ends.

'incredible'

:lol:

that is the lowest bar for that word i might have ever seen. he was 25 years of age and went to a very weak league and hardly played. these inopportune injuries are as likely to have more to do with his poorer conditioning and care for a substandard league than bad luck. a player who plays less than 100 league games between 25 and 30 is washed up, no matter the reasons
 
I can see us being in for him. A crock, overpaid, past-it forward with attitude issues has Manchester United written all over his destination ticket.

Do you guys even like football or Manchester United for that matter? Just some real weird disposition - just dunking on the club for no reason
 
Do you guys even like football or Manchester United for that matter? Just some real weird disposition - just dunking on the club for no reason

Relax. It was self deprecating humour. Besides, we've done these sort of deals for commercial reasons during Woodward era.
 
I think he could have won one around 2016-2018 as well. His productivity was off the charts allied to that sensational creative and 1v1 game of his (had probably surpassed Messi in that sense by that point). For that title though, he needed to win, or at least produce a big set of performances in the CL or WC. Injuries at the wrong time killed that.

Patently untrue. He was incredible for PSG. He just kept getting injured at inopportune moments.

Hyperbole with Neymar just never ends.
Agreed. Think it started with the heavy injury during the WC '14. He wasn't fit from injury when PSG faced Bayern in the CL final, same as Mbappé and even worse with Verratti (another one whose career got killed through injuries). PSG were playing incredible when that axis was fit & form (Thiago + Marquinhos, Verratti, Neymar + Mbappé) - it just happened that they mostly weren't and the rest of the squad was in parts incredibly unbalanced so couldn't seriously compete then.
 
'incredible'

:lol:

that is the lowest bar for that word i might have ever seen. he was 25 years of age and went to a very weak league and hardly played. these inopportune injuries are as likely to have more to do with his poorer conditioning and care for a substandard league than bad luck. a player who plays less than 100 league games between 25 and 30 is washed up, no matter the reasons
Mate, I am not calling him not lazy or wasteful with his talents, but he was kicked to bits. That had nothing to do with poor conditioning. Even before he literally had his back broken at the WC in Brazil.
 
Something can be said in how he took care of himself in general, how he also liked to indulged himself (so many greats in the past did the same, that's at some point it's not even worth mentioning) yet many of those injuries were plain horrible ones.

I have more doubts with Kun's constant injuries happening because of him being a documented lazy trainer and let himself be even chubby at points, than many of those actually terrible injuries Neymar had to deal with, even if he escaped to Carnaval from time to time.
 
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He could have reached greater heights than R9, Kaka, Ronaldinho..what a pity.

Money got the best of him, right from his shady Barca move. I also feel him playing in the same team as Messi worked against him. Should have joined a club where he would have been the main star player.
 
Whenever I see any recent news about it'll just make more melancholic.

Such talent and for it all to be wasted so glaringly.

The sad thing is had he been able to keep fit he'd be able to string together a few Balon d'ors seeing how the big two or no longer in the picture.
We need to stop all this 'wasted' palaver, he's not Ravel Morrison, FFS. He won 30 trophies and scored over 100 goals for 3 different clubs. Just because you don't have a career as good as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, it doesn't mean that you 'wasted' your talent. In the grand scheme of things, it's still an exceptional career, and one of the best of this generation.

Also, in terms of him being only 32, not everyone wants to play on forever at the highest level. A lot of players who have more of that maverick spirit seem to be unwilling to drive themselves into the ground indefinitely. I know that's more of an anathema in the soulless football world peopled by everlasting cyborgs that we have now, but it remains true.

In fact, a lot of Brazilians as well seem reluctant to play on forever at the top level as well, if we look at the most recent great ones.
 
One of the most talented players I've ever seen, and at his peak, one of the best.

He was too good for a lot of opposition defenders so he would get hacked down whilst having dodgy ankles and a poor injury record to boot.

It's a shame how things have ended up, but he's still played a major role in winning a champions league.
 
Mate, I am not calling him not lazy or wasteful with his talents, but he was kicked to bits. That had nothing to do with poor conditioning. Even before he literally had his back broken at the WC in Brazil.

i remember the world cup challenge, was a bad foul for sure. but he wasnt kicked to bits in ligue 1 any more than la liga and certainly no more than any top more creative player. Ronaldo for example had lumps kicked off him for a long time. Messi too. Even less talented players in the PL will have their managers saying they 'dont get enough protection' if they are talented. It would suit Neymar to suggest he was somehow more impacted by rough tackles than any other player.
 
That's precisely why Neymar wanted to leave Barca. Cos Messi will always be the star at Barca till Messi leaves
He was also offered a boat load of money at PSG - 220m buyout? He could have chosen better football clubs tbh but no, he had to go after money. Such a waste.
 
i remember the world cup challenge, was a bad foul for sure. but he wasnt kicked to bits in ligue 1 any more than la liga and certainly no more than any top more creative player. Ronaldo for example had lumps kicked off him for a long time. Messi too. Even less talented players in the PL will have their managers saying they 'dont get enough protection' if they are talented. It would suit Neymar to suggest he was somehow more impacted by rough tackles than any other player.

It's not a question of if he had more or less fouls, the thing it's that some of those fouls ended really bad for him with really bad injuries.

Sometimes luck it's not on your side, Messi got lucky quite a number of times, even when just a kid...he also has another build, closer to those of Romario, Maradona, Tevez, Aguero, bulky little fellas, that obviously helps too and Ney was more on the slim side of body type, not extremely lightweight a la Saviola or Aimar, yet not as stocky and closer to a tank like many of the mentioned.
 
Candidate for worst ROI in sports history.

If he had remained with Barcelona the MSG trio would have become stuff of football legend. They were beyond incredible together.

Not hard to understand that the incredible amount of money PSG offered him lured him away, but a damn shame nonetheless
Geymar?