In a summer of massive speculation about Neymar’s potential return to La Liga, PSG’s fans have made it clear: they’ve had enough of the Brazilian’s antics, leaving one all-important choice to be made.
Paris Saint-Germain’s opening day 3-0 victory over Nîmes was not important because of the actual spectacle on the pitch, where the Parisians cruised to a straightforward victory, but rather, in the stands, to see the Parc des Princes reaction towards Neymar’s controversial summer.
The vitriol towards their world-record signing was incredible, with ultras holding up several banners telling the forward to “get lost” after making clear his desire to leave the club following a disappointing two-year stint in the French capital.
Although Neymar has consistently produced on the pitch for PSG, his antics and childish behavior, along with serious injuries in back-to-back seasons in which the Parisians have been eliminated in the Champions League Round of 16, has seen his star fall since moving to Paris.
Therefore, for the first time in his career, Neymar has not been the top priority for either of the clubs targeting him this summer, the two eternal rivals at each spiritual end of world football: Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The Blaugrana have already brought in star talent Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong in an effort to finally overcome their consecutive Champions League collapses, while Real Madrid have spent just under £300 million pounds to completely revamp a deeply flawed and aging team.
Neymar’s dream move is to return to the Camp Nou and FC Barcelona, where he enjoyed the greatest success of his career alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez as part of the deadly MSN trident that led Barcelona to a treble in 2014-15.
On the other hand, the hand of Florentino Perez and Real Madrid has always been lurking in the shadows. Perez has tried and failed twice to convince the player to come to the Bernabéu, something he is not accustomed to as the chief executive of a club known for bringing in Galáticos.
A deal will be extremely difficult for both clubs, as neither can meet PSG’s asking price of £185 million in straight-up cash after the spending sprees they went on earlier this summer. Therefore, players will have to be exchanged in addition in order to make the transfer happen.
Moreover, the fit on the pitch is not ideal in either side. With the signing of Griezmann, in order to fit all of Barcelona’s star attackers into one team sheet, they would need to play a sort of all-out attack 4-3-2-1 with Griezmann in behind the MSN trio. On the other hand, Real just made Eden Hazard their new talisman, who plays in the same position as Neymar, which would force one to play on the right hand flank and take the promising Vinicius out of the starting XI.
Barcelona look keen to get rid of Phillippe Coutinho, which makes the most sense of any potential swap because he is a quality player with serious market value that PSG would be interested in. ESPN FC has reported that the deal will include Coutinho, Ivan Rakitić, and £92.6 million for the want-away forward, and that Neymar’s lawyers have been spotted in Barcelona.
Nonetheless, Real Madrid will not go away quietly. They have several assets that they are willing to part with, one of which could include reigning Ballon D’Or winner Luka Modrić.
Therefore, Neymar will now make the most important decision of his entire footballing career, one that could make or break whether he is remembered as an all-time great or a wasted talent. It appears he will return to La Liga before the end of this summer window, the only question is whether it will be as a hero or a villain.
In my opinion, the Barcelona move makes the most sense. A beautiful homecoming could right the wrongs of two years ago, and working alongside Messi, a great friend, brought the absolute best the world has seen from Neymar.
The Brazilian ran into problems at PSG when he was the center of attention and had no one to keep him in check, which would be a very similar situation at a post-Cristiano Ronaldo Real, where the only star in the same stratosphere as Neymar is Hazard. Moreover, the sense of betrayal felt by Barcelona fans following Neymar’s departure to PSG would be doubled, and moving to their arch-nemesis would show a clear disrespect that could make him the most hated footballer on the planet, if he isn’t already.
In the summer’s biggest transfer saga, one more twist remains. Neymar will choose to either return as the Camp Nou’s prodigal son or as one of the biggest pariahs in the history of modern sport. This transfer will define the landscape of Spanish and European football in the years to come, and will play perhaps the biggest role in deciding how the story of football remembers the divine but enigmatic talent that is Neymar.