Neymar: The heir to Ronaldinho
Majestic with a soccer ball, Ronaldinho is considered by many to be the greatest player of his generation and one of the best in football history. Not everybody can replicate what he did with a ball on the football pitch. He is a genius and is even respected by rivals. Guy was technical, and scored a lot of goals. His freekicks were always pin-point, with air ball accuracy even better than that of Messi's, in his prime. He has scored 33 times in under 97 appearances for his country, and 70 goals in 145 games across all competitions for Barcelona in five seasons. He has been one of the greatest players of all time, without a doubt. But many feel he could have stayed at that level for much longer.
However, his compatriot, Neymar Jr, might just be following the same footsteps in his still-budding journey as a professional footballer. Ronaldinho had a small yet wonderful career. And here, Neymar is running riots at PSG.
Brazilians are born talented. They eat, breathe and live football.
Both Neymar and Ronaldinho were in the news since they were 14. These players are just too good at their craft.
However, not many Brazilians have lasted on the pitch like Italians and Frenchmen. Their successful years are not more than 3-4 years, whereas the top Europeans football players rule the sport at least for a decade. Robinho, Adriano, Ronaldinho, etc are some examples who were good enough to become the best for an extended period of time, but their attitude cost them the longevity of their career.
However, Neymar might just follow a different path.
Comparisons with Messi and Ronaldo
Comparisons between Ronaldinho and Messi/Ronaldo are normal in a regular football discussion. However, they both have overtaken Ronaldinho in terms of greatness and achievement.
A lot of people like to put the Brazilian in the same bracket as he was a very likeable player and everybody loved him. Of course, he was great, very skilful, and a joy to watch. But he isn’t near the level of Messi and Ronaldo. These two have been at the top of the pile for a decade now. This is pure domination, never was a football era so dominated by two players only. Their consistency is incomparable and their skill, unmatchable.
Messi and Cristiano had to train so much to reach this level, but for Ronaldinho, it was more about the natural talent. Ronaldinho's attitude cost him his career. His late night activities, missing training sessions, and a careless attitude towards the team were no signs of success. Looking at the second half of his career is startling. Ronaldinho has turned out for nine teams in under eleven years. He has continued to score goals, but a player of such astounding natural talents should still be thrilling the Champions League.
Maybe talent-wise he can be considered on the same level as Messi and Ronaldo, but the latter two have performed consistently over the past decade and that is what puts them in a different category altogether. Ronaldo and Leo have put in the hard work and dedication to be the best in the world, something which was lacking in Ronaldinho's life.
Neymar Transfer Saga
Neymar was a sensation at Barcelona and his big money move to PSG shocked every football fan. Nobody expected him to leave the best club in the world to join a club that is not even in the top 5. Despite the massive wage Neymar was on at Barcelona - reportedly €16m a year- the lure of being able to nearly double that in Paris was too much. He is been given a lot of freedom at PSG, can do whatever he wants to and nobody is going to question him. It's clear that he was moving in for the money, and nothing else. Before Neymar signed for the club, it was worth €0.68 billion and now it's worth €1.5 billion, and I have no doubt in saying that PSG have paid him handsomely in return for promoting their club.
Neymar is 25, and so is Coutinho, but have a closer look at both of their lifestyles, and you'll understand the difference. Coutinho is a family man, unlike many Brazilians. He is much different and he'll certainly be a success at Barça, whereas Neymar, with that attitude of his, won't probably last for more than 5 seasons. This has been the problem for Brazilians. They are immensely talented, but they lack dedication. Ronaldinho is one of the best players ever but could have achieved way more than what he actually did.
Well, it was a joy while it lasted...