It may appear as though the man named by SportsPro Magazine for the second consecutive year, as the world’s most marketable athlete, (ahead of Messi, Ronaldo and even Usain Bolt), would perhaps be better suited to a move to Real Madrid.
With his flash watches, earrings and ever-creative hairstyles, Neymar couldn’t epitomise the modern day Galactico more.
The most daring hairstyle we have seen brushing the collar of a Barcelona shirt in recent years, has to be Carles Puyol’s ringleted mane, yet it would be difficult to claim there is any intention, let alone care for the placement of those unruly locks.
Yet come September, Neymar’s carefully tousled mohawk will fall atop the Blaugrana colours as opposed to the white of Real.
Interestingly, things may have been different had things gone differently earlier in his career. As a 14-year-old, the Brazilian prodigy travelled to Madrid to undergo a trial, and was on the cusp of a move to Los Blancos but, like now, the player decided against the move.
The fact that Neymar has decided to join Barcelona instead of Real Madrid could, in itself be a sign of his maturing motives.
By shunning a move to the Spanish capital, where he was reportedly offered more money, in the words of Barca boss Tito Villanova, the Samba Star is committing to a “sporting project instead of a financial one”.
Whilst in many ways it would have been easier for the player to submit to the Galactico pathway that looked inevitable earlier in his career, this move feels somewhat encouraging of his mindset.
Even if there do remain some initial yearnings for super-stardom, there are surely few better teams to focus a player’s concentration on purely football than the humbling institution of the Catalan club.
With Neymar recently expressing his excitement to play alongside Messi, and the world’s best himself giving the transfer the green light, I can’t see Cruyff’s ‘two captains’ theory coming to fruition.
Moving on from this the only reservation that remains about Neymar’s move across the pond, is whether or not his slight frame will be able to cope with the more robust and defensively active European game.
Yet with the Barcelona ethos of putting technical ability ahead of physical prowess, instilled by Cruyff and in recent years perfected by Guardiola, the addition of Neymar to the squad seems a perfect match.
Despite the cynics I think this move could prove to be the masterstroke of Neymar’s career and we could be about to witness one of the most exciting attacking pairings the world has ever seen.
What is your view?
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