When you think about the biggest superstars in the world of Football, especially of the past decade or so, there are a bunch of names that come to mind first and foremost. Names like Benzema, Suarez, Lewandowski, Ibrahimovic, Salah, Aguero, De Bruyne, Kroos are some of the most prominent ones, and the list still goes on.
Two names, however, stand out perhaps the most. The Portuguese phenom, Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Argentine wizard, Lionel Messi. They both have performed for their respective teams time and time again, won multiple titles, amassed several accolades, and earned a very loyal fan base. Those two shine the brightest, and it wouldn't be wrong to say that all the names mentioned above come after them, in the list.
But one particular player that had the caliber to match shoulders with these two giants, who had the potential to go toe to toe with that duo, was a Brazilian maverick named Neymar Jr.
Born on 05th February 1992, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior grew up in the heart of Brazil, where he started playing Street Football at a very young age. But he wasn’t some regular, ordinary kid with the ball at his feet. This was Neymar. The kids he used to play with were simply no match for him. Neymar Jr was a talent that one didn't get to see every day. His skills were far superior, and those who played with or against him were all left in awe. There was no shadow of doubt that this kid was going to write his name in the history books.
Neymar was just a teenager when he started playing for the local club, Santos, where he announced his arrival by shattering record after record. The opponents, coaches, team staff, and the fans- everybody could sense that this boy was special. Even though Neymar was a skinny kid, he could still dribble past the ball through defenders like they were practice cones!
He continued playing for Santos and impressed everyone with his superb skill set and genius gameplay. In 2011, Santos won the Copa Libertadores, which meant everything to them. In the same year, Neymar won the famous Puskas Award for an exceptional goal he scored- the goal that gave fans a glimpse into the potential of this special player. In 2013, the Spanish Football club FC Barcelona signed him, and the world was about to witness the meteoric rise of Neymar.
His first season at Barcelona went quite decent, and not something one would label as ‘extraordinary’. But all of that changed the very next season. In 2014, Barca signed Luis Suarez from Liverpool, and we all saw that famous MSN trio. Under Louis Enrique’s management, Barcelona won the UCL that season, and Neymar finished third in the Ballon d’Or rankings, after Messi and Ronaldo.
Neymar played a total of four seasons for FC Barcelona(2013-2017), and during this time frame, Barcelona won some prominent trophies like the UCL, La Liga, Super Cup, Copa Del Rey, etc, and a successful spell with Barcelona continued. In the 2016-17 season, came the famous ‘La Remontada’ moment for Barca, in which they came back from the dead, and demolished PSG 6-5, in which Neymar played a very crucial role.
At the Rio Olympics in 2016, Neymar helped Brazil to help them win the Gold medal.
It was all peaches and cream when suddenly, in August of 2017, the world of Football-especially Barcelona fans, were left in shock. Neymar was transferred to the French football club PSG. While the main reason behind this is unknown, it is said that Neymar quit Barcelona in order to escape Messi’s shadow. That if he stayed at Barca for any longer, he’d never become the centre of attraction, as long as Messi was still there, at Barcelona.
While this IS true, up to a very large extent, Neymar's move to PSG didn’t quite go according to his plan, either. While his stats weren’t exactly bad, he kept facing one injury after the other. Brazil’s 2018 FIFA World Cup run wasn’t any special, and although they did win the 2019 Copa America, Neymar wasn’t a part of that squad, due to his injuries. And just when he thought that he was finally about to be the main man of the team, a teenage sensation, Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe was a very direct, explosive player, who showed consistent results- something that Neymar couldn’t. Even when Messi joined PSG in 2021, and fans thought that they were finally about to witness their team lift the iconic Champions Trophy, they couldn’t have been more wrong. There was still tension and drama behind the scenes, and the synergy that was available for Neymar at Barca was simply missing here.
But all hopes weren’t lost here, either. The 2022 FIFA World Cup was around the corner, and it would’ve been the perfect redemption arc for Neymar- had Brazil been the one to lift the trophy. But sadly, that didn’t happen, either. Brazil’s World Cup campaign ended at Quarter quarter-finals, where Croatia won the match on penalties.
The final nail in the coffin was Neymar’s transfer to Al-Hilal in August 2023. He finally moved out of Europe and started playing for the Saudi Pro League.
So, there you have it. The tragic story of the Prince who never became a King. All that flair, that charm, that individual brilliance, that style, charisma with the ball, all that once used to be a part of Neymar’s personality- now lies in the dust. Neymar Jr never did justice to his potential. He never truly unlocked all his talent and showed the world what he really had in him. A string of fatal mistakes, a chain of blunders, and what could’ve been an absolute fairytale- now is nothing but a footballer’s worst nightmare.
While Neymar can still potentially win a few trophies with Brazil, his saga of Club Football has ended. And it has ended rather tragically. Had he stayed at Barcelona, he certainly would’ve been the next big thing for the club, won a bunch of titles, and had a much better career. Perhaps this is why Barca fans will always have a soft corner for him. For he represents an unfulfilled potential. For he is Modern Football’s Biggest “What if..?”