When any team makes a major big-money signing, it is done with the idea that the new player will have a significant impact on the team and make them better almost immediately. Perhaps no signing exemplified this idea more than Paris Saint-Germain's acquisition of Neymar for a record-shattering €222 million from Barcelona in 2017.
Over three years later, it cannot be doubted that Neymar's time in the French capital has been nothing short of disappointing. The latest occasion in which the Brazilian and his club again failed to live up to the hype came under the brightest lights of all: in the Champions League final.
PSG missed their opportunity to win the Champions League for the first time in the club's history after losing to Bayern Munich 1-0. Kingsley Coman, a former PSG player, scored the goal which gave Bayern their sixth continental title and first since 2013.
Neymar, on the other hand, was a long way off his usual standards. He struggled against Bayern's defense throughout the match and missed a goalscoring chance which he had been expected to put into the back of the net.
This is not the first time that this has happened to Neymar. In fact, when assessing his career as a whole, the biggest criticism of him is this: he does not make his team better.
Consider the fact that when he was at Barcelona, he did not need to do any of that; Leo Messi, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and others made sure of that. However, after leaving Barça to join PSG, the role of being the main option was thrust upon his shoulders. Since then, it has been evident that Neymar does not elevate his team; he has come up short on the biggest occasions time and again. A team like PSG in a league like Ligue 1 has to be judged on the strength of its Champions League performances rather than its domestic league ones; thus, not a lot of stock can be put into PSG's three league titles since Neymar's arrival. All the evidence since his his debut in Paris points to Neymar being unable to lift his team to new heights.
This is arguably even more true of Neymar at international level. I would even say that when Brazil won the Copa América last year, they did so because of Neymar's absence rather than in spite of it. This was in stark contrast to the Seleção's performances in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, when everything seemed to run through Neymar. They seemed to have no plan other than "get Neymar the ball and let him do the work" without actually considering what Neymar could do to most benefit the team.
There is no doubt that Neymar is an all-world talent; however, his playstyle and his fit with teammates, whether for club or country, tend to be mismatched. It's perfectly understandable that not every player is able to not only carry, but also elevate a team. However, when the player in question is signed for a record-breaking transfer fee which might not be eclipsed for another 20 to 30 years, you expect more than just "being a great player".
I'm not saying that Neymar has been a failure at PSG by any means. His goalscoring record cannot be questioned. If not for the fact that he is injury-prone, he would be a consistent 25- to 30-goal scorer every season. He has clearly established himself as one of the world's best strikers and has caused untold trouble for countless defenders in France and beyond.
However, as I mentioned, given the context of Neymar's acquisition as well as the fact that PSG would later bring in Kylian Mbappé for €180 million to partner him, you have to think that more would have been expected of him. Club owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi might very well be regretting shelling out such an extravagant amount of money to sign Neymar.
Some players are meant to be the alpha, while others may be remarkable talents but no more than that. As much as Neymar seems to believe he can be the alpha for PSG, the evidence to date clearly indicates otherwise. He is firmly in the latter group; while there's nothing wrong with that, it also means that unless PSG start building around someone else (perhaps Mbappé?), they are unlikely to ever win the Champions League.
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