There is water in the gas between Neymar and the leaders of PSG, it is not a surprise for anyone. Even if nothing is done yet, and Neymar does not position himself (he said he wanted to stay in an interview for “Oh my goal”, but also said that he felt targeted by Nasser’s remarks, we explains everything later), you can gradually feel the wind turning. So that’s why Neymar could MAYBE leave PSG this summer.
1. Simply because everyone pushes him more and more to leave
Neymar’s contract is automatically extended until 2027, yet his future at the capital club looks increasingly uncertain. Since his arrival at PSG, Neymar has had mixed performances, especially compared to what was expected of him. Nasser Al-Khelaïfi spoke some time ago about the objectives of PSG and the club’s sports project, and notably called on the players “to become humble again”. A remark that has no more for the Brazilian, who feels directly targeted and no longer feels valued in his club. It’s already not starting very well.
2. Neymar says he wants to stay, but he doesn’t seem to thrive on the masses
Neymar had affirmed his desire to stay at the club. He had declared in an interview for Oh My goal: “It is very true on my side that I want to stay at PSG. Afterwards, no one said anything to me… But on my side, it’s clear that I want to stay”. Except that things have plenty of time to change, and we know very well that Neymar has never been 100% comfortable in the French club. Between injuries and declining performance, the Brazilian didn’t seem to be adjusting to his arrival at PSG. Anxiety disorders, even phases of depression, it is quite clear that Neymar does not feel very well in Paris, and it is felt in his performance. We saw him in particular express himself with an open heart on this subject in the Netflix documentary “Perfect Chaos”, where he returned to his checkered journey at PSG.
Recently Neymar spoke about the performance of his colleague and friend Messi, explaining that the problem was not the Argentinian, but the club: “there is also the team’s style of play with players who , in the end, do not understand their way of playing. So all of this is detrimental,” he said in an interview for Canal Football Club in May 2021. “Leo, Kylian and I are players who are always judged by their performances, by their stats, by their titles won, by everything “
3. Mbappé is now the center of PSG’s sporting project
Now, Mbappé is the star of PSG, no doubt about it. Since the French extended his contract with the capital club, PSG have made it clear that Mbappé will become the cornerstone of the club’s sporting project. PSG management considers Mbappé to be the best player in the world (and we can understand why), but that doesn’t leave much room for former stars like Neymar, who inevitably feels devalued and sidelined.
4. Since joining PSG, Neymar gets injured all the time
In Ligue 1, Neymar has been injured many, many times. Since his arrival at PSG, he has been injured a dozen times. All these injuries, whether ankle or foot problems or pubalgia, Neymar missed many matches and many days because of his health problems. Inevitably 222 million euros spent on a player injured half the year, it’s a little raging, it’s both discouraging for the club and for the player.
5. In 2019, Neymar already wanted to leave PSG
In 2019, after a match against Strasbourg, which Neymar had brilliantly unlocked in added time, the Brazilian spoke about his future at PSG. He had then said: “when you don’t feel good in a job you still look for another” or even “it was just a desire to leave”. I think that’s pretty clear. Finally after reflection, he returned to his remarks and explained later why he was keen to win a Champions League with the Parisian club. Nevertheless, we understand that the doubts of the Parisians already go back a few years.
6. Nasser al-Khelaïfi in particular, doesn’t seem very excited about the Brazilian anymore
We know that what is often criticized for Neymar is his professionalism. Nasser al-Khelaïfi had confided “Is Neymar part of the new project? We are not going to talk about these issues in the media. Some will come and others will leave, but these are private negotiations”, well we can already feel the sauce coming. He then went on to say: “What I can tell you is that we expect all the players to do a lot more than last season. They must be 100%”, a remark which seems to directly target the Brazilian player, who in any case took it for himself, and no, it did not please him.
7. Since joining PSG, Neymar is no longer the player he was at Barcelona
In Barcelona, Neymar formed an iconic trio with Messi and Suarez, a fiery attack that made Barça’s heyday. The comeback that had made PSG suffer so much was also thanks to Ney. Inevitably the expectations when he arrived were therefore very high, for the Brazilian star who demonstrated extraordinary qualities of play. However, Neymar is not decisive at PSG. For 5 years, the Brazilian hasn’t really made the difference in the matches of great importance and in particular in the Champions League, and it’s a shame when you know the qualities of the player.
This season, for example, he was fully aware of being very far from his goals: 13 goals, 8 assists in 28 matches.
8. His relationship with Parisian supporters is also very complicated
In Paris, Neymar is hated as much as appreciated (even if he is a little more hated, we are not going to lie to each other). More and more often whistled and booed by Parisian supporters in Ligue 1 matches following PSG’s results in the Champions League, the Brazilian is very weakened by the treatment of Parisian supporters who partly blame the club’s drift in the Champions League. champions on the back of the attacker. Neymar has always said he needed to feel loved to give the best of himself, we can’t really say that the Parisian supporters want to help him in this direction.
9. Juventus had approached the player (but they will never get the money)
As we have been saying since the beginning of this top, since the change of coach and sporting director, the place of the Brazilian has never been so uncertain, and other clubs are obviously on the case. Juventus of Turin notably approached the player and would have entered into discussions with PSG. Nevertheless, the team explained the complexity of Neymar’s contract which was initially extended with PSG until 2027, and the amount of the clause (but also the salary) should be very high. Not sure that Juve can afford this little pleasure.
10. After that nothing is done, and we will have to wait until August
And finally, we must not forget that these are assumptions, I repeat that nothing is done. For now, despite the doubts, Neymar is supposed to stay at PSG. The transfer window is a long road strewn with pitfalls, so we will see where little Neymar will be by the end of August.