Neymar Jr: Has He had Enough?

It has been a little more than a year since the revolutionary Neymar transfer in which the 26-year-old soccer phenom moved from the Spanish club F.C. Barcelona to the French giants PSG. The Brazilian international would have acknowledged his one-year anniversary with PSG in August. Despite just the big news of such a big star being moved from what was thought to be a club he loved, the transfer broke monetary records. First of all, PSG had to pay Barca a total sum of $263 million (222 million euros), which made Neymar’s transfer the highest of all time, and so despite arguments on the Messi vs Ronaldo vs Neymar debate, on paper, the money points towards Neymar. However, despite all this, in Neymarʼs contract, PSG offered him a salary of $53 million (44 million euros) a year, which also makes Neymar the highest paid player of all time, surpassing Carlos Tevez from the Chinese Super League with a pay of $45 million a year.

Although Neymar never really revealed his reasons for taking the initiative and requesting a transfer, some possible explanations for Neymarʼs out of the blue decision could conclude personal glory. At Barcelona, he had to compete with Lionel Messi, arguably one of the best players in the world. Furthermore, Luis Suarez would occasionally have one of his outstanding days, despite reverting back to poor form right after. There was also competition from young, rising stars such as Philipe Coutinho. However, whatever his reason to leave his home in Spain, it seemed as though he had made a seamless transition into France and PSG. He had won his share of trophies and tournaments with the French club, and it comes as a shock to see him feel at unrest. However, Neymar is right to be “disappointed” with PSG. First of all, PSG had placed interested in young stars such as Coutinho and Mbappé before Neymar showed disinterest at Barca. They may have returned back to these habits after Neymar had settled in. Neymar, who is definitely one of the best in the world, could possibly be annoyed with the amount of attention his teammate Kylian Mbappé is getting. Mbappé returned to PSG after the World Cup as a champion with his team France, and one of his greatest accomplishments was scoring two goals that were key in defeating the Messi led Argentina in the round of 16. Furthermore, Mbappé became the youngest player to score two goals in the world cup and also became the youngest player to score in a world cup final. He surpassed the legendary Pelé to achieve both these awards. Mbappé is also PSGʼs leading scorer so far and has received much of the glory and attention Neymar is used to. Another potential reason for Neymarʼs state of dissent might be his rumored clash with teammate Edinson Cavani. There were rumors lately of the two teammates having a feud, but there has been no concrete evidence, and the teammates have not shown anything on the field. It has actually been quite the opposite with the co-stars embracing and hugging after goals.

The final reason for a potential Neymar move would be disappointed with his team's European performance. PSG are the uncontested leaders of Ligue 1, but in the Champions League, not so much. They rank third in Group C, whose standings are as follows 1. Napoli - 6 pts 2. Liverpool - 6pts 3. PSG - 5 pts

4. Red Star Belgrade - 4 pts

At this rate, PSG will not qualify for the knockout phase, but meanwhile, Neymar’s former team sits at the top of Group B with 10 points. Barcelona is a favored contender to win this year, especially with rival Real Madrid having lost its star coach and its prized player immediately after their victory in 2018 over Liverpool F.C.

Barcelona has according to rumors, told Neymar that he would be welcome back, but only if he were to follow a set of instructions. First of all, he would have to release a public statement stating that his move to PSG had been a rash decision on his part. This would be key in helping calm down his many supporters, some of whom had been dismayed with Neymarʼs decision to leave Catalonia. Barcelona has also told Neymar that there would be a possible salary cut for a while due to Barca’s problem with keeping player wages under control. There are also hindrances that might block Neymar from returning back to Spain, and at the forefront of these causes are the multiple lawsuits against him, and funny enough, one of these lawsuits comes from F.C. Barcelona. However, it is probably safe to say that if Neymar is returning back, then Barca will drop it. Also, Barca wants to avoid open hostilities between the two clubs, and therefore in order to do so, Neymar would have to continuously push the idea that he is unhappy and unsettled at PSG. Nevertheless, despite all of the soccer world waiting to see what happens, there is a chance Neymar might not move. After all, there are only rumors at this point. But one thing is certain, a Barcelona with Neymar back just may be the best club in the world.