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Three reasons why PSG should cash in on Neymar if they want to finally win the Champions League


Neymar has expressed his desire to leave PSG this summer (Picture: Getty)

For the second summer in the last three years, transfer gossip columns around Europe have been dominated by one name above all others: Neymar Jr.

The Brazilian is renowned for his incredible technical ability, his exceptional goalscoring and assists record and his larger-than-life off-field persona, but he is also cultivating a reputation for himself as something of a trouble-maker by engineering transfer moves for himself.

In 2017, Neymar kicked up a fuss in order to leave Barcelona and sign for PSG and eventually got his wish, with the Ligue 1 club paying €222m to release him from his contract in what became an ugly, drawn-out affair. Barcelona even filed a lawsuit against Neymar over alleged breach of contract.

Neymar’s prime motivation for swapping Catalunya for France, it was reported, was to escape from Lionel Messi’s shadow in order to boost his own Ballon d’Or chances. Leading the French club to a historic first Champions League title was seen as the way to achieve that individual aim.

Neymar is desperate to leave PSG this summer with former club Barcelona interested in re-signing him (Picture: Getty)

That tallied in with the club’s own ambitions: signing Neymar would help the team make that next step. It was Neymar, after all, who destroyed PSG in that infamous 6-1 drubbing at Camp Nou the season before, scoring in the 88th and 91st minutes before assisting Sergi Roberto’s winner in the 94th.

A couple of years on, though, and PSG are still awaiting their first Champions League title, while Neymar has slipped down the Ballon d’Or pecking order with Luka Modric surprisingly emerging as the player to break the decade-long Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi duopoly.

Consequently, Neymar is eager to seal a return to Barcelona and has made no secret of that fact, returning late to pre-season training and informing the club in no uncertain terms that he wished to leave this summer.

With Barcelona looking likely to firm up their interest in the coming days, Neymar could get his wish. Although losing a player of his undoubted quality would be a blow, PSG could emerge from the whole saga in a stronger position. Here are three reasons why…

Kylian Mbappe is PSG’s talisman

It is ironic that Neymar left Barcelona to escape Messi only to then find himself overshadowed by the most exciting attacker in world football and a leading candidate to win the Ballon d’Or in the future in Kylian Mbappe.

The 20-year-old joined PSG in the same summer as Neymar following a blistering first full campaign with Monaco and any doubts that the club had banked on his potential prematurely were quickly and unequivocally laid to rest.

In 57 Ligue 1 matches for the club, Mbappe has scored 46 goals and weighed in with 16 assists. On average, Mbappe has provided a goal or assist once every 72 minutes in Ligue 1 since joining PSG – an extraordinary return that shows no signs of abating.

Kylian Mbappe has emerged as PSG’s best player since signing from Monaco (Picture: Getty)

On the international stage, Mbappe played a key role in France’s World Cup 2018 win, scoring three times including in the final against Croatia, demonstrating that he not only possesses the ability to affect the biggest games but also the temperament.

Neymar’s record at PSG has been incredible with 34 goals and 20 assists to show from 37 Ligue 1 matches, yet he has only contributed towards 52% and 44% of the club’s league matches during his two seasons at the club due to various injury problems. Mbappe, in contrast, has been far more durable.

Mbappe, a French icon, Parisian native and a world-beater at the age of 20, is the player around whom PSG can build a Champions League-winning team.

Replacements would make the team stronger

According to ESPNFC, Barcelona are preparing an offer of €100m for Neymar with both Philippe Coutinho – ironically signed to be his direct replacement – and the perennially underrated Ivan Rakitic thrown in for good measure.

Smarting from losing Neymar against their wishes, Barcelona set about making a statement signing and eventually got one some five months later by buying Coutinho for a deal worth £142m from Liverpool in January 2018.

As good as Coutinho undoubtedly is, the move has not worked out and comparisons with his compatriot have proven unhelpful. Coutinho was never going to be a like-for-like replacement for Neymar given their contrasting skill-sets and he has been misused on the left-wing.

Philippe Coutinho could enjoy a new lease of life at PSG following a disappointing spell at Barcelona (Picture: Getty)

At Liverpool, Coutinho’s best performances came from a left-sided central midfield role and PSG could benefit from having more craft in that position having fielded the tenacious Marco Verratti, a natural defender in Marquinhos and the energetic, yet unremarkable, Julian Draxler in their midfield three against Nimes on Saturday.

Rakitic, who despite being one of Barcelona’s better buys over the past decade, is not particularly popular amongst supporters, would also add quality to that area of the pitch, while Juventus’ Paulo Dybala is another tipped to move to the French capital if Neymar departs.

Although PSG would be losing a proven world-class performer, they could arguably be stronger for it.

It would improve the atmosphere at the club

Just as at Barcelona in 2017, the Neymar sideshow has threatened to undermine the start of PSG’s season. Rather unsurprisingly, supporters of the club have been left enraged by Neymar’s antics, calling him a ‘son of a b****’ during Saturday’s 3-0 win over Nimes.

Thomas Tuchel admitted that he could understand where fans were coming from and although the German tactician has been keen to promote Neymar’s qualities in recent weeks, you get the feeling he would rather this messy situation reached a speedy resolution.

There was also a strange situation in the Coupe de France game against Rennes earlier this month when Neymar appeared to squabble with Marco Verratti on the pitch before being shoved out of the team photo by Mbappe.

The Neymar situation has overshadowed PSG’s start to the season (Picture: Getty)

It is unclear how Neymar’s public declarations about leaving have been received in the dressing room. Neymar was a popular figure at Barcelona and has Brazilian allies at PSG in Thiago Silva and Marquinhos (although his best mate Dani Alves has now left).

Nevertheless, while Neymar’s teammates will undoubtedly appreciate the talent he brings to the team, keeping him could risk unsettling the harmony of the dressing room, such is his unhappiness at the club.

PSG’s players will be desperate to end their Champions League hoodoo and keeping an unsettled, high-profile player against his will could well compromise their efforts to win the trophy this season.





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