A waste of time? What the stats say about Neymar's spell at Paris Saint-Germain
Neymar's decision to engineer a world record move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 left the Spanish side with a bitter taste. Things turned even more sour when Neymar's camp launched a €26m law suit against Barcelona shortly after. Ironically, it related to an unpaid loyalty bonus. Despite such a messy break up, Barcelona have sought to re-sign the Brazilian ever since. They came close last summer but talks eventually collapsed between the two clubs. Everything points towards another summer-long saga.
To suggest the last three years of Neymar's career has been a whirlwind would be an understatement. His £200m move to PSG was criticised from the start. Many said it was a choice fueled by greed - his reported wages are £600,000-a-week in France. Others speculated whether it was a strategic play to eventually end up at Barcelona's arch-rivals, Real Madrid.
There was, however, also some logic behind it from a football perspective. For as long as Neymar shared the same dressing room as Lionel Messi he would never be the star of the team at Barcelona. The chance to take perennial underachievers PSG to European glory would cement Neymar's legacy.
Things just haven't panned out that way, unfortunately. Almost as soon as Neymar joined PSG he has been linked with a move back to Spain. Some believe Neymar quickly regretted his decision. Reports have emerged from Spain this week claiming the Brazilian is even willing to take a 50 per cent pay cut to secure a move back to Barcelona this summer.
😱 Despite featuring in just 52 of a possible 103 league matches for Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar has completed at least 56 more dribbles than any other player in Ligue 1 since August 2017 (307) pic.twitter.com/TUmbPqqOGv
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) May 4, 2020
Neymar could have already played his last game for PSG. The 2019/20 Ligue 1 campaign has officially been cancelled and who knows whether it will be safe again to complete this season's Champions League. It would be as remarkable way to end Neymar's career as it was to start it. Just as PSG finally made headway in Europe, they might not even have the chance to go any further.
If Neymar is really to leave PSG after three seasons then there is no doubt his time in France would be seen as hugely disappointing. It would not even be a stretch to say it has been a waste of time. One of the biggest issues has been Neymar's fitness. Some would go one further and say his commitment. When Neymar has played he has generally been world class but the problem is he hasn't played enough. The Brazilian has managed just 52 appearances out of a possible 103 league matches for PSG. At the cost of £200m that simply isn't a good return. That is before even factoring in his eye-watering wages.
Neymar's reputation has taken a hit as a result. So much so Mbappe is now considered the most likely next winner of the Ballon d'Or after Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Nevertheless, it shouldn't detract from what a supremely talented player Neymar still is. From his 52 league appearances he has incredibly played a direct hand in 73 goals. He has scored or assisted in all but six of his last 40 league matches for the club.
Moreover, only Mbappe has more goal involvements in Ligue 1 over the last three league seasons (84) and he made 25 more appearances than Neymar in that time. Despite playing in just over half the league games available to Neymar, he has extraordinarily completed at least 56 more dribbles than any other player in Ligue 1 (307). He averaged 6.1 successful dribbles per 90 in Ligue 1 in 2019/20, not far off Augbusrg's return of 6.6 as a team in the Bundesliga this season - the lowest in Europe's top five leagues.
Neymar has finished each of his first three seasons at PSG as the top WhoScored rated player in Ligue 1. A WhoScored rating of 8.62 is also the highest in Europe's top five leagues. Furthermore, only Messi is playing a direct hand in a goal more frequently (one every 60.3 minutes of action) than Neymar (one every 62.3 minutes) since his move to PSG (25+ starts).
The stats are out of this world. His first season at PSG, in particular, was breathtaking. He was directly involved in 32 goals in 20 league appearances (19 goals, 12 assists) in 2017/18 and claimed the WhoScored Man of the Match award 12 times. He garnered a perfect WhoScored 10 rating in 30% of his Ligue 1 appearances (6/20). Injury ended Neymar's season earlier than hoped but he finished the campaign with a WhoScored rating of 8.95 - the highest ever return in a single league campaign across Europe's top five leagues since WhoScored started receiving Opta data in August 2009.
It was an encouraging start to his PSG career. Unfortunately, Neymar has continued to pick up injuries ever since. He has still been hugely influential when he has played but it only makes his time at the club all the more frustrating.
In the periods where league campaigns are defined, Neymar simply hasn't been there for PSG. Neymar missed the last 16 matches of his first season at the club with a fractured metatarsal, including the second leg of their Champions League last-16 defeat to Real Madrid. Another foot injury ruled Neymar out of 16 straight matches towards the end of the 2018/19 campaign, during which time PSG were knocked out of the last-16 of the Champions League again, this time by Manchester United. And there were more fitness problems in 19/20.
In total, when combining the second half of the three league campaigns Neymar has been involved with for PSG, typically the period in which most season-defining games are played, he has missed 49 of a possible 78 matches in all competitions for the French giants.
This season's victory over Borussia Dortmund marked the first time PSG have started Neymar in both legs of a Champions League knockout tie. It is his third season at the club. Neymar scored in both games and PSG advanced to the quarter finals of the Champions League for the first time since the 2015/16 campaign. Now it is uncertain whether he will actually play for PSG again, let alone in the matches he was signed to win.
One more time: stop this boring subject and embarrassing masquerade with Neymar! Sheikh Nasser-al-Khelaifi does not forget and don't forgive! The shame on the Camp Nou still hurts very hard! He will never let the Brazilian to return to Barcelona! For any amount of money offered! Neymar will remain the PSG player like a true mercenary that he is!
It's incredible to see any talk of 'dribbles' in the same sense as goals, tackles, passes or assists. Neymar's dribbles are showboating, ball greedy, pointless manoeuvers at most that make no difference to the outcome of the game. His goals are mostly opportunistic tap-ins late on in games or halves when the opposition has folded; all of which transpires in a lop-sided league. It wasn't much different at Barcelona. He's a good player, not world class. If he were any nationality other than Brazilian then we wouldn't even be discussing him.