Time for the marriage to end between Barcelona and Neymar
The stage is set. Paris Saint-Germain are planning the biggest transfer of all time and if journalists in Spain, France and Brazil are to be believed, they are close to getting their long term target. The player in focus is Neymar Jr. who is reportedly "uncomfortable" at Camp Nou and has also told his friends that he is off to the City of Light.
Neymar's staggering release clause of €222 million is set to be met by the Parisians which in itself is a massive shock. If this happens, there is no doubt that this particular transfer will change the dynamics of world football. Barcelona will lose one of the best players in the world who is touted as the rightful heir of the Ballon d'Or award after the reign of the two current superhumans, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
But what has exactly happened behind the scenes that the Catalans are ready to offload a player for whose acquisition they did absolutely everything four years ago? What really happened that the next Monarch of football is being readily sold to an inferior team in an inferior league? The answer to that is as difficult as a defender taking on Neymar in a one v one situation.
Also read: Things that you could get with PSG’s €222 million offer for Neymar
There have been talks since last season about the troika of MSN being disruptive to the entire balance of the team and that Neymar is not being utilised to his fullest because of a certain player named Lionel Messi. The Brazilian had to track back most of the times and had to do the dirty work. There are no doubts over the fact that most of Neymar's best performances in a Barcelona shirt came when Messi was out injured.
Meanwhile, footballers tend to be insecure and in the superpower teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid, egos do happen to clash. Though it did not seem to be the case ever between Neymar and Messi, on some days it must be hard for the poster boy of world football to play under the shadow of arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen.
In his interviews, Neymar has always gushed about the brilliance of the Argentine but there comes a time when a world class entity like the 25-year old has to think of his own legacy. Neymar and his representatives would not want his player's prime to be invested in nurturing the magic of the Leo.
Neymar's social life has always been in the news with his millionaire friends often making the rounds on his Instagram. A report was published back in May in which it was written that Neymar had a fallout with the club's former assistant coach Carlos Unzue. It later came to light that Unzue was worried about the player's off field activities and also warned Neymar over not becoming the next Ronaldinho. The former Barcelona superstar was often found in pubs more than on the training ground during his final years with the club.
After the famous 6-1 win over PSG last season, Neymar partied with his friend and Formula 1 driver, Lewis Hamilton, until the wee hours of the morning. He reported to training after a day - injured - and could not feature in the next game. That match also coincided with his sister, Rafaella's birthday - a fixture that was missed by Neymar for a straight third year during that period of the year.
He is also good friends with Justin Bieber and often travels to London on his off days. It is his social life that is coming in his way of achieving the next level of greatness, many coaches at Barcelona understand. There are many similarities between Neymar and Ronaldinho, both on and off the field observed by assistant coach Unzue which were deemed harmful for the Brazilian's career.
The club believes that the Brazilian will always have that personality and they believe that he does not possess the leadership qualities. There aren't many better players than him in the world at the moment but at €222 million, Barcelona can target a major overhaul of their squad for Ernesto Valverde. It is an amount which is too good to be turned down.
When Barcelona last sold a player of this stature, it was back in 2000 when Luis Figo unceremoniously signed for their bitter rivals, Real Madrid. They wasted those funds on disappointing signings like Emmanuel Petit and Marc Overmars but this time around, Barcelona's targets are some of the blockbuster names in world football like Marco Verratti, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.
It does make sense for the club on a financial level to sell Neymar at a world record price and it also seems plausible to think that a disciplinarian coach like Ernesto Valverde might have some issues with the party animal that is Neymar.
This deal will be helpful for both sides in the end with Barcelona getting their targets in midfield and also a player in Mbappe or Dembele to effectively replace Neymar in the long run. And on the other hand, Paris Saint-Germain will get a marquee name who can finally realise the dream of the club chairman Nasser al-Khelaifi to get his hands on the coveted Champions League trophy.
A four-year stay with the Catalans might come to an end for the once wonder-kid who had expectations placed on him since he was a teenager at Santos. Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior has been a crucial cog in the wheel for Barcelona since his arrival but the time has come for this marriage to end, albeit on decent terms.
The 25-year old will now help achieve a dream for his next side which he himself crushed last season almost single-handedly - he scored a free kick, a penalty and assisted Sergi Roberto's winner in Barcelona's 6-5 aggregate win over PSG in the Champions League last season. He did that in just seven magical minutes.