It goes down in history as the most expensive transfer of all time, as well as the one that led the market to inflate prices beyond belief. When Neymar moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 for 222 million he did so to step out of Lionel Messi’s shadow and finally become the brightest star of a club aiming to win the Champions League. And that would have allowed him to win the Ballon d’Or.
Virtually nothing of what the Brazilian hoped for happenedstarting from his status: if he had the Pulga in Paris they bought Kylian Mbappé in the same transfer session, who was much more continuous, decisive and integral. Not even a shadow of the Champions League Oh Ney almost always injured when entering the direct elimination phase and the Ballon d’Or remained a utopia: apart from 2017 where he came 3rd and in any case where he was a Barcelona player for six months, the subsequent editions were a cry: 12th in 2018, 16th in 2021, not included in the other editions. An absurdity for one of the highest paid players in the world.
The marriage of interest in Saudi Arabia managed to be even worse: 100 million per year in salary and a series of benefits bordering on the ridiculous. Five games last season before a cruciate ligament tear knocked him out. The return this season with 42′ in two parts of the match. And another stop due to muscle problems. Definitely too much for the overly generous Saudis of Al-Hilal, who in addition to the large salary paid 90 million to buy him from Paris Saint-Germain. And in any case, even without him they won the last championship by a landslide (31 wins, 3 draws and 0 defeats). Better to say goodbye.
Santos, the club that launched him into professional football, will most likely welcome him. And with whom Neymar also won a Libertadores as a protagonist, even finishing 10th in the Ballon d’Or rankings, a rarity for a player who plays outside of Europe. The player has given his approval, the club has scheduled meetings to find the solution in a financial operation that is anything but simple. His return home marks the definitive surrender of a player who should have been number one in the world and who never was even in his club, not even in Saudi Arabia.