It was supposed to be Neymar's redemption for 2014, but PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe is making the World Cup his own
Both Kylian Mbappe and Neymar take to the field today in their respective World Cup quarter-finals, yet they will have differing feelings as they line up for France and Brazil respectively. Neymar still has the weight of a nation on his shoulders, and doesn't seem to be handling that quite as well as people may have expected.
This is a man who was so confident of his own ability that he moved from the haven of Barcelona and playing alongside the mercurial Lionel Messi to PSG - a club who may have a monopoly on Ligue 1, but who are giants in the way of their bank balance, not their trophy cabinet.
It was a big move for Neymar, and one he thought would establish him as the best player in the world. Finally, he would be out from under the shadow of Lionel Messi, and would show the world what he could do.
However, attitude and injury curtailed that, with coach Unai Emery losing his job at the close of the season and seeing the egos in the team become far too much for him. Egos and problems that were exacerbated by Neymar, not soothed, and the player who wanted to show the world how much he'd matured and how good he was for a team on and off the field failed in many ways.
There was of course another player who rocked up at PSG last summer – Kylian Mbappe, who had been so sublime for Monaco in their Champions League and Ligue 1 title winning run, and who knew he needed to move on to further his career.
Staying in France with PSG was seen by some as a cop-out, and he may yet leave this summer, with worries over FFP sanctions and the fact PSG haven't actually paid Monaco for him yet looming. Add to that the future of Cristiano Ronaldo looks to be with the Old Lady in Turin and not with the Champions League specialists that are Real Madrid, and you've got an interesting situation brewing in terms of transfers.
Neymar himself had of course been linked with an audacious move to Real Madrid, following his clear discontent with life in France, yet Real Madrid love nothing more than a marquee name and someone who both the fans and the press are fawning over - and right now, that's not Neymar.
Cut to the World Cup, and the clear star in the making for 2018 is Kylian Mbappe. The player was incredible as France beat Argentina, with the young 19-year-old the star of the show. Mbappe ran things, and took the defence apart, with pace, intelligence and clinical finishing skills.
Come full time, people were talking about Mbappe as the real deal, not just some boy who could dribble and had a couple of good seasons, but someone who can win the Ballon d'Or once Ronaldo and Messi have relinquished their duopoly, and someone who the best clubs in the world should be looking at.
Of course, France face Uruguay, who are one of the most compact and solid sides in the competition, and perhaps the ones who look like they could go on and win it should football decline the invitation to come home, yet with Mbappe on the field, anything is possible.
Brazil face an equally intriguing tie against Belgium, with both sides gung-ho and attacking for fun, yet even against Mexico, it was Neymar's theatrics everyone spoke about during and after the game – not his talent and skills.
That's not a look the Brazilian should want, yet after spending an incredible 14 minutes on the floor during Russia 2018 already, he doesn't look like he either cares, or wants to change. Contrast that with Mbappe, who's already broken records and produced a Man of the Match (or indeed round) performance, and you can see where the problem lies for Neymar.
Brazil could win this World Cup – considering the way the big boys are crashing out for fun, they probably think they should win it, but the narrative won't be all about Neymar, even if they do. The negativity surrounding the player is already paramount and carrying a nation seems to faze him much like it does when it comes to Lionel Messi and Argentina.
Mbappe meanwhile, has been under the radar in a side with Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, who the press love to focus on, and has taken to the tournament with aplomb. Of course, if Neymar does listen to his critics and those trying to help him before it's too late, he could turn it all around.
He certainly has the talent, both collectively and individually to do it, yet at the minute, it's looking like he's set to once again be eclipsed by a club teammate – except this time it’s a 19-year-old and not arguably the world's greatest ever player.
