The hope to see Neymar back every weekend was too much for me. It was too much for you. It was too much for anyone.
I warn you that this article will contain numerous highlights that show what Neymar was capable of doing on a pitch. Because geniuses like him can be described, but they were born to be enjoyed visually.
With his departure from PSG, European football and the competitive spotlight, it is time to lay in bed, grab some ice cream and just watch tiktoks of his highlights with sad music playing on the background. Neymar has been the player to cause the most excitement among the youth and his departure to Saudi Arabia (which practically equals retirement) is more painful than any breakup.
To fully understand his influence as a footballer, we need to be aware of what Neymar has represented since the begining of his career: the next great Brazilian wonderkid and the new Pelé. While only 19 and playing for Santos, he won a Copa Libertadores that the club had not conquered since 1963, when they were led by Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé. Not for nothing would he be compared to the greatest Brazilian in history as a result of his precociousness and unparalleled talent.
To give a grasp of his talent, Neymar managed to rank among the best ten players in the world (according to the Ballon D’Or) as a teenager playing in South América, something unimaginable at the moment.
His story at Barça is well known. He was regarded as a star since his arrival and, from the very first moment, he shone. His relationship with Messi surprised everyone, as they became inseparable. With each passing year, he was a better player and his game kept on evolving, becoming much more complete in the process. During this time, he gave glimpses of his ‘attacking midfielder’ self that dominated the central lane and would show up more often at PSG.
He had his great historic night at Camp Nou and that same summer he left, and with him all the Culé’s hearts.
Many regard his stay in Paris as a failure, but it was at PSG that he would reach his zenith as a player and as an all-round attacking force. It was Neymar‘s peak statistically and, at the same time, he kept the fantasy and flair that brought you back to your childhood; watching his videos in Santos and listening to Michel Teló’s “Ai Se Eu te Pego”.
History would have been more fair to him if, in that Champions League final against Bayern Munich, he had lifted the long-awaited trophy. He would have finally been considered the best footballer in the world by consensus.
Him leaving means that the greatest example of that different kind of footballer disappears: that player who everyone wanted to be in the matches played on the street with friends. Gone is that winger who made you enjoy watching him play. Gone is the reason why many people got interested in football.
His departure from FC Barcelona was already traumatic because most people stopped enjoying him every weekend in his prime, and nothing can compensate for missing out on that talent.
With him pretty much retiring, an inner self passes away. It is the end of that kid who fell in love with a footballer. Gone is the kid who admired him with excitement every time the ball came his way.
We have witnessed one of the biggest talents in the history of the sport and, even if his career does not satisfy all of us as a result of the ‘what ifs’ we paint in our minds, he should be remembered as such: the top scorer in the history of the ‘Canarinha’ and a talent one can only dream of.
I will go back to the breakup with my childhood but, instead of watching “The Notebook” and cry in bed while eating ice cream, I will do it watching “Neymar best skills and dribblings” to the sound of “Somewhere only we know”.
Farewell to Neymar, a once-in-a-lifetime footballer. Goodbye to a player I will remember forever.
Main image: @FCBarcelona_es.
Translated by Nuño Alonso.
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