Has Neymar missed the chance to become the king?

Neymar is already considered the prince who never became a king, and most people are sure he will never take the crown now that he has left European football.

The Brazilian attacker is one of the best talents the world has ever produced, and he has some of the best goals/assists records in the game.

Neymar has been plagued by injuries and inconsistency, but he may have been unlucky too.

The Brazilian emerged onto the scene in the 2010s, and his move to Barcelona in 2013 was expected to catapult him to the top of world football and make him the king.

However, that was when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were at the peak of their careers and were competing to be the best players in the world.

Neymar was reduced to helping Messi stay ahead of Ronaldo and selling more Barcelona tickets, as he could not become the star ahead of Messi.

For four years, he was happy in that role until PSG decided to shock the world by paying his release clause, which stood at €222 million.

No one had ever thought that a club could pay for that, and that single act is the reason why clubs set ridiculous release clauses when they sign players nowadays.

Neymar’s move to PSG changed the course of his career. Even though his departure did not make it easy for the likes of Nice and Monaco to catch PSG, his arrival woke French football.

Destined for greatness

At Santos, Neymar was a sensation that was too hard to ignore, and it remains a surprise that it took so long for him to move to Europe.

However, remaining in Brazil from 2009 until 2013 showed that his parents and managers were smart people.

Nowadays, Brazilian talents are poached by top European clubs even before they clock 18, forcing them to stay back in Brazil until they reach the legal age to change clubs.

However, Neymar remained at Santos for as long as possible, scoring at least 107 league goals for them before moving to Barca.

At Santos, he honed his skills further, even though it was already clear that he was destined for greatness immediately after his debut.

He even earned several caps for Brazil while playing in their domestic league, making it even harder to ignore him.

When he turned 20, Neymar had already scored 100 professional goals, and that happened in 2012, a year before he was to leave South America for Europe.

He was a boy wonder, and the top clubs on the continent wanted to add him to their squad, but Neymar chose to move to Barcelona.

Was Barcelona the right place?

Lionel Messi was the undisputed king of world football at the time, and Barcelona had some of the best players, but Neymar was confident that he would fit in at the Catalan club.

His move cost Barca more money than they could report, but they were sure it was worth the gamble.

Barca needed to add him to an attack that already had Lionel Messi to remain among the best clubs in Europe, and Neymar came prepared for the challenge.

In his first season at the club, he scored 15 times as he tried to build some chemistry with his new teammates at his new home.

The arrival of Luis Suarez in 2014 to complete the sensational MSN front-three propelled Neymar to new heights and he scored 39 times in his second season in Spain, winning the treble, including the Champions League.

Barca had proven to be the right step for him in Europe, and he developed further at the Catalan club over the next few seasons.

Barca fans had expected their club to preserve the front three of Neymar, Suarez and Messi, but the Brazilian knew he was made for more and most football fans would agree.

Seeing him in another club’s shirt was difficult at the time, but it happened in 2017 when PSG paid his release clause.

Was joining PSG worth the money

Most people would insist Neymar’s only reason for leaving Barcelona was the money on offer and PSG’s motivation to pay his release clause.

That was a clear statement of intent from the Ligue 1 club, but Neymar never stood a chance of outshining Messi if he remained at Barcelona.

That meant his best chance was to leave Barcelona to build a name for himself by leading a team to success, and PSG made him believe he could do that on their team.

His move to Paris was a success despite how it ended and his major failure to win the Champions League with the Ligue 1 club, but it was worth the money he made, and he proved he could be productive without Lionel Messi.

Injuries might be Neymar’s biggest enemy

There is no doubt that a lot more was expected from Neymar before he joined the many players that the Champions League has lost to Saudi Arabia.

However, injury is probably the biggest reason Neymar may not have become the king of football; if he had been fitter, he could have achieved more.

Since the 2013/2014 season, Neymar has missed 260 matches as a professional, the most of which is the injury he suffered for Al Hilal, which forced him to miss 60 matches.

No matter how talented a player is, if he misses 26 matches per season, it would be tough for him to make much impact.

Neymar’s poor fitness or ill luck with injuries is one of the reasons he could not win the Champions League at PSG and probably why he never won the Ballon d’Or.

Is moving to Al Hilal the end of his European adventure?

Moving to Saudi Arabia is now the first sign that a player is retiring, with most national team managers refusing to pick players who swap Europe for the riches in the Middle Eastern country.

Neymar may not be cut off from the Brazil national team, especially if he keeps performing how he did in Europe, but this could be the end of his European adventure.

He already earns too much money for any European club to pay his wages if funds from the Middle East do not back them.

His contract at Al Hilal expires at the end of this season, but it is likely to be renewed for Neymar to show that he can be the face of football in Saudi Arabia, which means we have seen the end of Neymar in Europe.

He would be satisfied with what he has achieved so far and should be proud of himself, but we still think he could have been king of football if he had taken a different path and never agreed to become Lionel Messi's understudy at Barcelona.