Is the Quality of Neymar Jr Worth the Hefty Price Tag?
Neymar Jr is one of the most polarizing players ever to touch a football pitch. At the age of 29, he’s already considered one of the greatest footballers in the history of Brazil. By the time he retires, he could surpass a host of legends to have come before him on the Brazillian national team. But, with so many accolades, fans are still hesitant for the young legend to join their favorite club. While individual achievements are an incredible feat, does Neymar Jr help clubs win? Or does the bad outweigh the good?
An Undeniable Talent
Statistically, Neymar’s talent is undeniable. Especially when it comes to having success for the Brazillian national team, he’s already the third all-team leading goal scorer for the country with 57 goals to date. Only Ronaldo (R9) and Pelé can say they’ve scored more goals, and with much gas left in the tank, Neymar could easily surpass them both.
Neymar is also brilliant at drawing fouls near the box, being a top-three player in the world for the category since the year 2016 across EUFA. This season, across all Big 5 European Leagues, Neymar is 2nd in the world as a whole to only Lionel Messi in goal-creating actions with a staggering 1.18 per 90 minutes. The Brazilian is responsible for a ton of goals; and has been for Barcelona, Paris St Germain, and Brazil.
We need to talk about Neymar… pic.twitter.com/ZzqpfIcGTt
— UtdArena (@utdarena) January 31, 2020
The Value and Polarity of Neymar Jr
But if that is the case, why do football fans worldwide not want Neymar to be a part of their club? According to the Transfer Market, Neymar is the 5th most valuable player globally at $121.00m. Ahead of him are Mohammed Salah, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, and his PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, respectively.
The Guardian believes that the disdain for the player stems from his persona off of the pitch. But, it could also be his inability to help a side win big games in big moments.
“Why do people hate Neymar so much? There are some obvious reasons. On-pitch theatrics. Hairstyle stuff. The gaudiness of his public persona. Let’s face it, Neymar is ticking a lot of boxes here. It is the extreme nature of the Neymar rage that stands out, to the extent it is hard to name another elite athlete who has been so roundly dismissed, talents scorned, simply because people don’t like them,” said The Guardian.
Neymar Wages and Recent Form
Perhaps his recent form, tied to his wages, is the problem. Furthermore, he stated that Neymar is not a bad player but simply not worth the value that PSG has paid for him. According to Business Insider, Neymar is merely a “massive waste of money” to the club.
- Neymar cost Paris Saint-Germain $250 million in 2017 but has been a massive waste of money.
- The amount Paris has spent on his wages in the two years since means each goal or assist the forward has contributed has cost more than $1 million.
- When compared to his peers, this is a terrible value for money.
- Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Mohamed Salah have contributed more to their respective teams while also costing less. (According to Business Insider)
To date, Neymar has won domestic club trophies for every three teams he’s been a part of. And, has been a significant contributor to the team’s success, especially during his early days at Santos. He’s won La Liga twice with Barcelona. As well as winning the Champions League in 2014. And with his time as Paris St Germain, he has won the Ligue 1 title for each of his three reasons.
Defining Greatness
So how could it be a flop? Unless a player’s current form only defines the definition of greatness. Admittingly so, Neymar hasn’t played his best football this year. His seven league goals in just 15 appearances are the lowest of his entire career since his exit season at Santos, with one league appearance and zero goals.
For elite players, Champions League success becomes a standard benchmark for greatness. And while PSG was able to make it to the finals last year, they came up short. Consequently, many fans turned to Neymar for the bulk of the blame. Plus, simply being on the pitch is a significant factor, and Neymar is often injured.
The media have just reported that Neymar has signed a contract extension with the club, extending his time in Paris until 2026.
Neymar new contract #PSG 🇧🇷
– The agreement has been reached weeks ago and it’s considered “just a matter of time”.
– PSG expect Neymar to sign in the next days, ‘big announcement’ already planned.
– Huge bonus in case of UCL win.
– Mbappé: talks on but *nothing* agreed yet. https://t.co/LMnrpctSkx
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 15, 2021
With more great money comes greater expectations. And with the uncertainty of Kylian Mbappe remaining on their roster, there’s a possibility that it’ll be up to Neymar to carry the bulk of scoring duties for PSG going forward.
No one can deny that Neymar Jr is a spectacular footballer. He’s a proven winner and phenomenal individual talent. But, if Neymar wants to cement his legacy as an all-time great, he’ll have to begin collecting the biggest trophies that football has to offer. After all, he’s already collecting some of the most extensive checks.
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