The natural successor: Has Neymar blown it?

MrMarcello

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Either way it's not a great look for him. He's either guilty, or he's not the name he once was and commercially it's not working out for Nike. I kind of doubt the latter as he would have to be a massive flop for them to feel the need to terminate early.

Puma will be worried too i bet.
Tifo Football has a video on Nike cutting costs and contracts, could be an easy out for them.

 

kaiser1

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Right now he is second best player in the world. By far.
I agree. When he is not injured he is just a cut above anyone not Messi or Ronaldo

But his career is at the level where one silly incident next game he will be compared to St Maxim. Many fans just have that irrational dislike for him
 

Canagel

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Only 7 goals away from the all time record of Pele. What a masterful performance by him again against a tough opponent !
 

kaiser1

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Only 7 goals away from the all time record of Pele. What a masterful performance by him again against a tough opponent !
People will be waiting for a bad game to start their agenda.
 

Gunnerineverylife

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Only 7 goals away from the all time record of Pele. What a masterful performance by him again against a tough opponent !
The most elegant player to watch during present times, thanks for the clip. Reminded me of the time I played as him in "Become a legend" mode in PES19, was such a pleasure.
 

bakalhau

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I actually did watch the game live yesterday and he was immense. Played very, very well.
 

TsuWave

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special player. that ball to icardi and the assist to Di Maria

they don't make ballers like this anymore
 

NasirTimothy

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special player. that ball to icardi and the assist to Di Maria

they don't make ballers like this anymore
He’s an exceptional player. Anyone who has any other opinion just doesn’t watch him play that much. It’s literally that simple.
 

Bearded One

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He has everything in his locker to become the undisputed stand out player in this generation but sadly it may never materialize because he doesn’t WANT it in the sense that he is not willing to push himself to that level. Injuries also have not helped but they are usually a fallout of the players lifestyle. He scores and playmakes at a very high level and ability wise, apart from Messi and CR7 he is number one.

Did he miss a mentor in his career journey? I think so. I don’t think CR7 would be who he is today without the influence of SAF likewise Messi, I doubt he’d have had the career he’s had without a Guardiola in his path.
 
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Idxomer

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If he had better finishing, there wouldn't be any question about him being the best player in the world right now.
 

NasirTimothy

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Is he finding form again?

He was brutal earlier in the season.
Had a few dodgy games for PSG but they are not playing that well as a team at the moment. Had a fantastic performance for Brazil against Uruguay recently. He’s an awesome player.
 

Pickle85

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He has everything in his locker to become the undisputed stand out player in this generation but sadly it may never materialize because he doesn’t WANT it in the sense that he is not willing to push himself to that level. Injuries also have not helped but they are usually a fallout of the players lifestyle. He scores and playmakes at a very high level and ability wise, apart from Messi and CR7 he is number one.

Did he miss a mentor in his career journey? I think so. I don’t think CR7 would be who he is today without the influence of SAF likewise Messi, I doubt he’d have had the career he’s had without a Guardiola in his path.
Agree with this but I'm also one hundred percent sure that if I had his talent I would do exactly the same thing. If you can do the whole party thing while still broadly justifying your insane wages, why wouldn't you, I guess? Not directed at you, but I think that people often forget quite what it's like to be 18-30 years old and expect players to live like monks. If I was given the money that Tom Davies has had from a young age, forget Neymar, I can't imagine I'd still be playing prem football at 28.
 

Oly Francis

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Agree with this but I'm also one hundred percent sure that if I had his talent I would do exactly the same thing. If you can do the whole party thing while still broadly justifying your insane wages, why wouldn't you, I guess? Not directed at you, but I think that people often forget quite what it's like to be 18-30 years old and expect players to live like monks. If I was given the money that Tom Davies has had from a young age, forget Neymar, I can't imagine I'd still be playing prem football at 28.
Lets face it, most of us would do the same. It's frustrating as a fan because you know that Neymar has the potential to rule the world if he decided to be 100% invested but that's not the life he chose, he doesn't seem to be driven by the mark he'll leave in the history of football and that can be understandable when you know the sacrifices necessary to do so. That being said, he gets paid like a top player, he should act like it.
 

Oly Francis

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Very happy for Neymar tonight. He lost a good friend last night, Marrilia Mendonça (a huge music star in brazil), who died in a plane crash, and was obviously affected looking at his social media posts and the tshirt he wore. He's been the best i've seen him with PSG since the games against Bayern last season. He seemed... light, which wasn't the case for months (and seeing a genius like Neymar look heavy is very frustrating). He even managed to score 2 nice goals and had a great display overall.

 

Amar__

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Rubbish tonight. Arguably even worse than Messi which says a lot considering Messi walked the entire game.
 

GlasgowCeltic

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He should come to the Prem while he's got some prime years left, get some belated recognition like Zlatan Cavani and Silva have
 

The Corinthian

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If he could finish he’d be up there, but he’s one of the worst finishers I’ve seen.
 

Lord SInister

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He should come to the Prem while he's got some prime years left, get some belated recognition like Zlatan Cavani and Silva have
I don't think he needs validation like others given he proved himself unlike the other three in La Liga. As much as EPL fans cum over EPL, during Neymar's heydays La Liga was the top league, and he actually had won the UCL scoring in the final and top scoring in the whole tournament.
 

Ludens the Red

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Looks awful anytime I see him, which is the big games. Maybe he should retire and focus on his true love…

His sister…
 

GlasgowCeltic

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I don't think he needs validation like others given he proved himself unlike the other three in La Liga. As much as EPL fans cum over EPL, during Neymar's heydays La Liga was the top league, and he actually had won the UCL scoring in the final and top scoring in the whole tournament.
His career's going to peter out at CL level when he should probably be the best player in the world
 

ariveded

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He is the most hardworking forward of the trio. If anything, he is getting unfairly canned.

He is getting dragged back a lot, due to incompetence of Messi/Mbappe defensively.
 

Classical Mechanic

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This guys appearance record at PSG is abysmal. Only once in 5 seasons has he managed to appear in over 50% of PSG’s league games (just). His highest number of appearances in all comps is only 31. Unless he’s in semi retirement mode over there his future looks uncertain if he’s suffering so badly from injuries by the age of 29.
 

TenonTen

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Neymar's father: "I'm sure Neymar will play for Manchester United before retiring, it could be next season or after 2 years. He asked me when he was 16 years old why famous Brazilian players never played for Man Utd, I told him you could break that tradition."

Would United fans take him?

Also the CAF would go crazy about Neymar and his off the field antics. Imagine if Pogba and Ronaldo stay on and then Neymar comes in. Primadonna United FC!! Dealing with Raiola, Neymar and Mendes....... ;)
 

Luke1995

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Neymar's peak in europe was probably 2014-15 to 2016-17. I'm curious to find out if he can actually produce a better form than that.

This year is a big one for him in regards to his footballing legacy.

I don't have much faith in Brazil winning the World Cup because they are looking slow and out of ideas against most south american teams so you'd imagine they'll struggle against the european elite.

But PSG absolutely have the capacity to win the champions league if they can get the Neymar-Messi partnership going on the pitch.
 

horsechoker

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Trying to best Messi and Ronaldo is a tall order and even if Neymar put 100 per cent into being the best he still could have come up short.

I don't know if we'll see someone in the next generation best these players.

Ronaldo is the ultimate athlete and Messi is probably the most naturally gifted footballer both of whom have avoided major injuries and setbacks in their career while maintaining their peak form for many a season.

Many other greats have struggled to do all of this. R9 was too injury prone, Ronaldinho stopped trying and gained weight, George Best liked the drink too much, Maradona could have accomplished more than both but liked drugs too much. And there are more examples of players who couldn't reach the levels Messi and Ronnie hace