As the 2019 campaign began, one name who has continued to make headline is Neymar Jr. The transfer saga of the most expensive football player on this planet has failed to find a conclusion. While his future is set to be decided in the next 48 hours, the fall of Brazil’s ill-tempered talisman is an example for the upcoming gifted young talents or probably a cautionary tale.

Keeping Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo aside, Neymar was believed to be the next superstar but since he decided to leave Barcelona two summers ago, in a world-record signing to PSG for $244.5m the destiny of Brazil’s golden boy has just turned him into an unfulfilled potential.

Neymar’s move to PSG From Barcelona.

Neymar set himself free from Barcelona to step aside from Lionel Messi’s shadow and moved towards to fulfil his dream to become the world’s greatest footballer and lift the coveted Ballon d’Or. The Brazilian forward could hardly justify his price tag as PSG crashed out prematurely in Europe’s biggest competition- Champions League for consecutive years. Following a two-year disappointing stint at the French capital, Neymar made it clear that he wants to leave the club and since then there have been massive speculations on his return to La Liga. The current situation was probably not what Neymar envisioned for himself, but most importantly he has lost the trust of his fans.

PSG Fans with Get Lost Neymar Posters

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In the opening day of Ligue 1 when PSG cruised a 3-0 victory over Nîmes, the Parisians in the stands maliced the world-record signing holding up posters and placards telling the 27-year old “to get lost“. His over-dramatic antics, childish behaviour, along with serious injuries in back-to-back seasons has left the football fraternity to doubt his potential. PSG being a cash-rich club at least want to recoup the money they paid for the Brazilian star, the President- Nasser Al-Khelaifi regrets his high investment on Neymar 2 years ago and now wants Neymar to move out ASAP. But the top clubs know his worth and he is still the hottest transfer product as both the Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona are engaged in a bid to land Neymar to Santiago Bernabeu and Nou Camp respectively.

A Failed Desire To Be The World’s Best?

After an early prominence in Santos and being a named South American Footballer of the year successively for two years, Neymar made a move to join Barcelona to play along with Messi and Suarez to form a fearsome MSN trident under Luis Enrique. It was a beauty to behold for the fans in Camp Nou and personally for Neymar as he was a part in leading Barcelona to a treble in 2014-15 and stood third in the FIFA Ballon d’Or nominees. He scored 68 goals in 128 appearances in The Blaugrana colours and became the most loved Generation-Y talent in Europe. He was strongly believed to be the player who would break Messi’s and Ronaldo’s legacy but everything came falling apart and Neymar is now a story about how selfishness and egoism can undermine even most glorious talent.

Folklore of £600,000-a-week move to one of the richest clubs made him the centrepiece of history. What has unfolded since then is the downfall of Neymar Jr. Champions league trophy has however been a far-fetched dream, Neymar indeed lost his grip on Ballon d’Or even when the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly failed to lift the trophy first time in 11 years and an unassuming Luka Modric claimed it for his impressive playmaking skills. Neymar slipped in the voting by football pundits from 3rd to 12th in Ballon d’Or nomination to not being considered at all for the best FIFA men’s player 2019. Further adding to his insult after a heartbreaking exit from the 2014 World Cup due to injury when the hosts faced the most humiliating defeat he became the laughing stock and viral content in Brazil’s 2018 World Cup campaign. Two goals in five games and yet another injury, but what left an impacting impression was his antics, attention-seeking skills that annoyed the whole world. Certainly, his graph has gone down compared to his earlier peak form and he hasn’t left the world unnoticed how unhappy he is.

A Disgrace To The Fans:

The Brazilian superstar has now turned from being the hottest property in France to the most hated player who the Parisians want to get rid of as early as possible. Barca fans, however, are in a dilemma to even accept Neymar with open arms again after he backstabbed and prioritized money over loyalty and respect. The question amid the transfer speculation is will he show the commitment that Barcelona expects and return as Camp Nou’s prodigal son? If at all Florentino Perez manages to on-board Neymar in Santiago a sense of double betrayal will be felt by the fans. The transfer to the arch-nemesis would show a clear disrespect that could make him the most hated footballer on the planet, if he isn’t already. If he does end up staying in PSG, it’s evident that Neymar will need to earn the respect of the fan base back.