It seems like Neymar has been around for years such is his near constant appearances in the sports sections of newspapers, but in reality he only has 2 seasons of first team football under his belt. There has been intense speculation seemingly forever suggesting that it is only a matter of time before he moves to Europe, but currently the speculation remains just that: more or less unfounded.
Last Summer Chelsea were reportedly very close to securing a deal only for it to fall through, and again the London club are seemingly one of the leading sides in the race for the 19 year olds signature. Some of the biggest clubs in Europe (and West Ham) have courted him but noone yet has been prepared to actually commit to a transfer and a definite bid and as time passes I am beginning to question whether Neymar might have a real problem on his hands.
The core of the problem is that he would be a huge gamble, and with a pricetag of £40million it could be an extremely expensive one. The issue is that of those that have gone before him, he has reputation weighing heavily on his shoulders. Countless players have moved from Brazil to ply their trade in Europe and many of them go off the rails, and with the price involved you would have to keep him focussed not just for one year but for the majority of his career.
In many ways I feel sorry for young Brazilian footballers, they are expected to play in a certain way and the comparisons between them and players of old I think at times hold them back. How many times have you read about a player being dubbed the ‘new Pele’? Have any of those players ever really gone on to achieve huge things in the game? Robinho is a prime example, his big move to Real Madrid was meant to pave his path into footballing history, and whilst on his day he is a superb fantasy footballer, what has he actually achieved? He has won 2 La Liga titles and 1 Serie A crown as well as one Copa America. Clearly these achievments are not to be sniffed at, but the ‘new Pele’? Not for me.
The latest 2 players to be presented to the world as the saviors of Brazilian football Ganso and Neymar have even more to live upto as expectations on the national team continues to grow with every major tournament that they underperform in. The names of Brazilian ‘underachievers’ role off the tongue, did Adriano ever achieve what he should have done or what was expected of him? Ronaldinho in his day was a superb footballer but he lost interest in the game far too early. Kaka I suppose in many ways should be defended since his problems are down to injury but again has he really done what was expected of him, particularly at international level?
I suppose in many ways the party lifestyle that seems to go hand in hand with some of these young superstars can be expected, for the most part these are young kids who use football to escape extreme poverty and when they have everything they could ever have dreamed of is it surprising that their passion for the game diminishes somewhat as the glamour, glitz and fame takes hold?
Maybe we are letting certain players tarnish Neymar, there is no hard evidence to suggest that he will lose focus at some point in his career or spend more time showboating as opposed to making meaningful contributions to a team, but if his last 2 years are anything to go by the signs are there. There have been ugly incidents such as him recently kicking out at an opposition player on the pitch, and signs that he sometimes wishes to overcomplicate things and score the perfect goal as opposed to putting the good of the team first.
I would never question the player’s ability he clearly has an awful lot in his locker, I will reserve judgement on whether comparisons to Pele are fair, but he can’t make the same mistakes that some before him have made. An outlay of £40million could probably bring a hugely experienced top European international, and obviously if Neymar can keep his head on the game he would be worth every penny, but if he doesn’t adapt to the English game and if he isn’t prepared to work on different parts of his game he could struggle.
It has always appeared that Real Madrid have lead the chase for the teenage star, and I think he would succeed there more than he would in England. Maybe Chelsea fans are clamouring for his signing, but the City fans I have spoken too wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole….
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