“The man in your pics, backup dancer…”
Despacito may be the song of the summer but you can’t help feel somehow Stormzy’s Shut Up has squeezed its way onto Neymar’s current playlist.
The reference, for those uninitiated with South London grime slang, refers to a back-up dancer being someone that is secondary to a lead singer, and is trying to get some time in the limelight. Neymar apparently feels that he is the man in the background, as Lionel Messi takes on the adulation of the masses.
Neymar’s head, and certainly those of his entourage, say it can’t be like this anymore. It’s time to step out of the shadows and become the headline act. PSG, enthused by such a scenario, have already begun setting up the bright lights and stage along the Champs-Élysées for the Brazilian. This won’t be the Marco Verratti show nor that of Edinson Cavani. It was at one time reserved for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but since his departure a void has remained unfilled.
PSG have seen their appeal and status decline somewhat without Zlatan, such was the charisma he carried. It was underlined by AS Monaco’s emergence and unprecedented Ligue 1 title win in a season which they also marched to the Champions League semi-finals. They became France’s new darlings, and a wider audience began to fall for this enterprising, youthful team from the principality. Over in Paris meanwhile there was envy for this; they are desperate to be loved and taken seriously. But now, they are in danger of becoming forgotten in a sense.
This is where Neymar steps in.
That Neymar could genuinely be attainable has excited those at PSG who longed for the 23-year-old. Their project is tired, forlorn and under the greatest scrutiny it ever has been. A figure like Neymar could work wonders in reviving it, and remind everyone that PSG are indeed serious when it comes to being an elite club. It’s understandable they want the Barcelona man. But is the feeling mutual? Does Neymar need PSG, as much as they need him - and they REALLY need him.
The answer is no. If Neymar’s greatest concern right now is that he’s a back-up dancer at Barça, forever to be in Messi’s shadow - now and even when the Argentinean walks away - then forcing a move to PSG is not the way to go.
There, Neymar would be confined to an even more lowly role, and that’s not to say his current position is lowly - it’s far from that. Ligue 1 is a mere second tier league, ultimately a fantastic platform for young talent to perform upon and earn moves to first tier leagues. It’s no surprise that his potentially future teammate Marco Verratti has made noises about an exit, unsatisfied with the consistent mediocrity at PSG. Then there is Monaco. There is a desperation to vacate Monte Carlo for many of that marvellous team from last season. Some have already gone, others are clawing to get out. Kylian Mbappe, the undisputed star of Ligue 1 these days, will be there one more season maximum - and that’s if Real Madrid don’t get chequebook happy.
Neymar could walk in to the greatest fanfare possible and be treat like a king in Paris. But what exactly will be his empire? Not much, in all honestly. He’d be handed license to run riot at PSG and remove the shackles placed upon him at Barça - which in actual fact, improved his game. He’d have the law of the land in Ligue 1, whatever that consists of - or doesn’t. PSG would be his team, working simply with the cause of propelling his star. Everything would be about Neymar. Somehow, it just doesn’t fit. Despite his forays into becoming a media presence outside of football, Neymar doesn’t come across as someone needing to be the centre of attention. This dalliance with an apparent need to be that, seems constructed by some around him, namely his father. It explains the out of the blue nature this saga has been entrenched in. Last season was Neymar’s maturing season in Barça colours, yet this reeks of a step back and out of sync with his own progression.
In regards to Barça, as much as their own project has tailed off in part, they remain a global force and a name synonymous with greatness. They will continue to battle Real Madrid for supremacy in Spain and the Champions League. Even in their bleaker moments they remain at the top, or thereabouts and PSG are flattered just to be mentioned in the same breath as them. Messi, for as much as he appears to be a problem, pins the club up and once he does go Neymar is primed for the number one role he apparently craves. Meanwhile, playing alongside Messi, who stakes a claim to being the greatest of all-time, is hardly a chore. LaLiga, with the Premier League, is the greatest league in the world. The marketing potential of Neymar is more secure while with Barça than it would be at PSG, who are dwarfed by the fandom surrounding MSN and co.
Neymar is in the best place he possibly could be. Today, tomorrow and the future as a whole. PSG can’t even offer something equal to his current audience. If anything, Neymar could be further cast into the shadows he longs to leave should he make the move to Paris.
