5 negative effects of Neymar's departure on Barcelona
Brazilian superstar, Neymar shocked the football world when he completed his move to the French club, Paris Saint Germain in a record transfer worth €222 million during the summer. The news came as a big surprise to many football fans around the world and dominated the headlines everywhere.
Barcelona fans could not believe what had happened; the team had lost one of it's best stars. The news was not well accepted in Spain, as it was greeted with mixed reactions with the Barcelona fans at the forefront.
The move resulted in various legal threats as Paris Saint Germain was continuously accused of breaking the Financial Fair Play Rules (FFP). In another corner, the angry Barca fans were busy tearing down anything in the name of Neymar along the Catalan road. Many felt Neymar was disloyal and decided to criticize the Brazilian in the media, comparing him to Portuguese legend, Luis Figo who also made a controversial switch away from the Catalan club.
The problems did not end there, as there were other adverse effects that came out as a result of that move. Therefore, let us look at 5 negative impacts of Neymar's move on Barcelona.
#5 Crisis
After Barcelona announced that Paris Saint Germain have paid the release clause in Neymar's contract, many things started going wrong at the Catalan club. The club was divided into two sections. One section felt Neymar has betrayed the club by leaving for PSG, while the other section put the blame on club president Maria Bartomeu, claiming that he did not do enough to prevent Neymar from departing.
Furthermore, there were lots of criticism flying over to the Barca board, as some people accused the board of incompetence. Former president Joan Laporta also used the privilege to condemn the board as he wrote on Twitter:
"Neymar's departure is further proof of the incompetence of this board,"
"Due to economic problems they need to sell him without notice."
Besides that, there was also a crisis in the squad as some players were rumoured to be unhappy with the way the Brazilian had left.