In the four years from 2009 to 2013 it seemed as if Neymar was a mythical footballer that didn't really exist. A player like Freddy Adu, Kim Kallstrom and Sanli Tuncay - purely Football Manager Sensations rather than the actual real deal.
For years, Neymar was rumoured to be joining Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona. Instead he stayed in Brazil with his club side Santos to learn his trade, doing so in spectacular fashion by winning the Copa Libertadores in 2011 and the illustrious Puskas Award in 2011 for a sublime individual goal against Flamengo in the Brazilian Serie A.
In 2013, Neymar eventually moved to Europe in a deal that cost Barcelona almost €80m, with €40m of that fee reportedly being paid to Neymar's parents. While at Camp Nou, the Brazilian forward had his highlights, but never really managed to usurp Lionel Messi or Luis Suarez as Barca's most potent attacking threats.
Failure to become Barca's main man clearly affected Neymar's ego, and in 2017 he left for PSG in a deal worth €222m, in his pursuit to become the world's greatest footballer. However, things haven't gone particularly well for Neymar since then and he's received heaps of criticism for his antics both on and off the pitch. In this article we take a look at the behaviour of the 26-year-old Brazilian and analyse whether it's affecting his reputation and performances.
There's no Neymar in team
Cristiano Ronaldo has been recognised as the greatest player in the world for the past couple of years. The Portuguese forward is often derided for his arrogance and ego, and often looks disappointed when a teammate scores rather than passing to him.
However, his greatness is harnessed in a positive way for his team and it's clear that Ronaldo will do absolutely anything to win. In Euro 2016 he altered his game to become a target man for his country, and helped them from the sideline when injured in the final.
Neymar shows absolutely none of this determination to win for the team or selflessness to improve his side's chances. In the World Cup in Russia Brazil were touted as one of the favourites for the tournament before crashing out to Belgium in the quarter-final stages.
The team looked thoroughly disjointed throughout the tournament and much of that was down to Neymar. The slight-of-stature forward seemed to be playing with the blinkers on, often choosing personal glory rather than passing to teammates.
In the group stages this was abundantly clear as much of Brazil's play went down Neymar's left-hand side and ended with him either being dispossessed or wasting a golden chance by choosing to shoot rather than bringing other players into play.
Current Arsenal boss Unai Emery was also scathing in his criticism of Neymar from his time as coach of PSG. The Spaniard said that he had to make special accommodations for Neymar as he was not interested in implementing Emery's front-foot pressing style.
At PSG Neymar was clearly the man, but he did nothing to back up this claim. The Parisian side merely did what was expected of them in the past two years. Winning domestic leagues and cups for PSG is merely a foregone conclusion in a league where they are by far the financial powerhouses.
The Champions League is the Holy Grail for PSG, and in Neymar's time at the club, they fell woefully short of winning the trophy.
Diving
Neymar claimed the impressive coup of becoming the most embarrassing diver associated with Brazil in Russia this summer, which is spectacular considering he had to beat Rivaldo to the title.
Despite VAR being used for the first time in a major tournament, Neymar continued to play-act and dive, trying to fool referees into giving him decisions. Against Mexico in the second round he was accidentally trod on by Lozano and spent the better part of five minutes writhing on the floor in agony.
It's as if Neymar doesn't understood that the eyes of the world are on him and that everyone is aware of his play-acting. Cristiano Ronaldo was told by Sir Alex Ferguson that he needed to cut out the 'crap' if he wanted to become the best in the world, and he did - turning himself into a fine physical specimen and cutting out the diving.
Off the pitch
Money: Neymar makes Carlos Tevez look like a shy and retiring footballer who's prepared to play for free. As mentioned above, he managed to extract €40m from Barcelona for his parents in his move from Santos.
When moving to PSG, he was happy to take the money of the morally questionable Qatari owners to circumnavigate FIFA Fair Play Rules. He is also the highest-paid player at PSG, yet regularly spent time away from France in his native Brazil last season, missing games and letting down team mates while all the time raking in hundreds of thousands of euros from his employers.
Poker: A few weeks after putting in sub-standard World Cup performances for his country, Neymar entered the BSOP poker tournament, flaunting his wealth and eventually finishing sixth in the tournament.
Coming from a country that is plagued by poverty and sees football as almost the national religion, Neymar's disregard of his public image further alienated him from the Brazilian public. However, the PSG man probably has all the qualities to succeed in poker; a good bluff, endless streams of cash and a strong desire for personal glory. It's hard to imagine James Milner or Leighton Baines having the same success at poker as Neymar.
Summary
One of the problems with Brazilian footballers in the past few decades has been a lack of discipline. Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Kaka were at all one point the best players in the world, but never reached the heights of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo because of their lack of discipline.
Neymar often says that his ambition is to be the best player in the world, but if he doesn't rein in his lifestyle and attitude then that looks unlikely to happen. Even when Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi hang up their boots, Neymar could see himself losing out to players such as Harry Kane and Mo Salah for the title of world's greatest.
