Cavani Neymar dispute exemplifies problems for PSG

During a regular Ligue 1 match between PSG and Lyon, two of the giants of French football, new superstar Neymar Jr and another of PSG’s famed strike force got into an argument that played out on the pitch and has since in the press.

Ego’s are the death of football.  A game in which 11 people are meant to play as one.  The team matters more than the individual and where passing and self-sacrifice matter as much or more than any other aspect of the game.  When money and transfers and all the modern influences of the game get added then of course things are even more complicated.

It’s not unbelievable that Neymar Jr would feel that following his transfer to PSG and for all the money involved he would be top dog at PSG.  The issue here is that he’s not exactly on some pub side.  Edinson Cavani is also an incredibly highly paid footballer and one of the best strikers in the world.  The two of them fighting has just as much to do with personal as professional ego. Cavani doesn’t like the idea that he’s just being pushed out for another star and Neymar Jr feels that anything he wants is rightly his.

Both are wrong and both are right.  That’s the issue in football.  Ultimately Neymar Jr is a star and THE star at PSG but that’s not to say he shouldn’t be cultivating a better relationship with his teammates. Cavani though needs to understand that he’s the elder teammate and think more rationally.  He’s going to have to share the spotlight with Neymar Jr.

In the end it’s important that the team play together and with unity to achieve their potential.  That potential is unbelievably high by the way.  The issue is for the two of them to be recognized for as good as they are they’ll need one another.  They need players of each others quality to bring the best out of one another.  To pull and press and reach the heights they can they’ll need to be tested.

That said it’s a tough tightrope to walk.  It’s one that was gotten wrong in Madrid for years at Real with the Galactico teams.  The best 11 players in the world wouldn’t necessarily make the best 11 in the world.  That’s an old-fashioned footballing principal but one that does matter. 11 players willing to fight for one another instead of themselves will win every single time.  Both of these superstars know that and need to mature very quickly to stop themselves ruining this golden opportunity.

Next: Neymar just doesn't understand

Unai Emery has never had to deal with players of this star caliber before.  He was a fantastic manager during his time at Sevilla but the players were all smaller.  He needs to blend this squad together quickly before it implodes.  This is exactly the sort of problem one foresaw with the superstar treatment that PSG was giving Neymar.  They have a team full of stars who all need equal treatment not just one.  Messing up the balance could see that none of them really reach their potential and that would be the saddest part.