When Paris Saint-Germain made Neymar football’s first £200 million man in 2017, the big question was why. Why did he choose to leave Barcelona? Why did he decide PSG was his best option? Why did the French giants think he was worth so much money?
There were a lot of answers. It was inevitable that some people would see Neymar’s decision to move as financially motivated. The Brazilian would be earning a reported over £700,000-a-week, and that’s before taking bonuses or signing-on fees into account.
Neymar to Prove Worth as Paris Saint-Germain Face Atalanta in Champions League
Star Man at PSG
Despite all of financial gain, one idea that kept cropping up was that Neymar wanted to escape from the shadow of Lionel Messi and succeed on his own. It made sense. As long as Messi was playing, Neymar would always have been considered second fiddle to the Argentinian, because he is one the greatest to play the game. At PSG, Neymar would be the star, even when Kylian Mbappe made the switch to the French capital later that summer.
Things haven’t quite worked out that way though. PSG have won the Ligue 1 title at a canter in all three of the seasons Neymar has spent at the club, but that wasn’t what he was signed for. PSG were the dominant force in French football before Neymar joined the club, and they will continue to be so whenever he chooses to leave. Domestic French football is not strong, and there has been no sign of a title challenge in the last three seasons. This year, the Ligue 1 title was decided on the basis of points per game. PSG won 2.52 points per game, Marseille in second won just 2 points per game. It was hardly even a contest.
Individually, Neymar’s numbers are superb. He has scored 47 goals in just 52 Ligue 1 games, with an overall record of 70 goals in 82 games. There is little doubt that he is one of the top players in the world, but it always feels like something has been missing.
Champions League Glory Eludes Neymar at PSG
Neymar was bought in to take PSG to the next level, and that means winning the Champions League. They have been eliminated at the round of 16 in each of the past two seasons, first by Real Madrid, and then by Manchester United last season. Neymar was unavailable for that tie with United and watched from the sideline as his side surrendered a two-goal lead in dramatic fashion. His anger was shown when he took to Instagram to criticise the referee, for which UEFA banned him for three games.
The signs are that this year could be different. The 28-year-old put in a fine performance in the second leg of the round of 16 tie with Borussia Dortmund, scoring PSG’s opener as they came from a goal down to progress.
The quarter-final tie with Atalanta will be a totally different test. PSG will be without the injured Mbappe and Marco Verratti, as well as the suspended Angel di Maria, while Edinson Cavani has left after the conclusion of his contract. It will be just a one-legged tie, so the pressure is all on Neymar. There will no chance for Mbappe and di Maria to bail them out a second time around if it all goes wrong.
But this is what he wanted. The chance to take a game by the scruff of its neck and win it almost by himself. This is the biggest stage, and this is the opportunity that he has been looking for. If he can take PSG all the way this year, people may stop questioning his motives for moving to Paris in the first place.
Of course, Atalanta are a dangerous opponent. They scored 98 goals in Serie A last season and dispatched Valencia 8-4 on aggregate in the round of 16. But they are novices when it comes to this stage of a Champions League campaign. This could go one of two ways- they could thrive, or the nerves could get to them.
But their season won’t be judged on what happens in Lisbon over the next few weeks. PSG’s season will be. Winning a domestic treble is a fine achievement, but this is the fourth time they have done that since the 2014/15 season. Their main goal is the Champions League title, something they have never done before. The new single-leg mini-tournament in Portugal feels to have opened the competition up a little, and it might just suit PSG.
This could be the defying moment for Neymar in a PSG shirt- it really is up to him to make the most of it.
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