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Barcelona have been recently linked to re-sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain. According to several sources in Spain, the Catalan giants have started the conversation with PSG for a possible swap deal with Ousmane Dembélé to bring Neymar back to the Camp Nou.
Barcelona have endured a terrible finish to their hugely promising campaign. Despite securing the La Liga crown, early in the month of April, Barcelona's back-to-back failures in both Champions League and Copa del Rey, have left a sour taste in their mouth.
In the beginning of May, Messi and co. were well on course to lift their third potential treble in the last decade, but a dreadful night at Anfield changed everything and their dream of lifting all three trophies this season, faced a harsh reality. Barcelona’s only consolation of completing the domestic double didn’t materialized also after, their shocking defeat in the final of Copa del Rey against Valencia.
However, Neymar has endured two back to back failures in the European stage for PSG, as the attacker was sidelined both the times due to injury. As a result, he missed the Ballon d’Or podium last year and it is highly unlikely he will be in the top three this year also as well.
So, without wasting no time, here are the three reasons why Barcelona should not sign Neymar.
#3 Injury-prone nature:
Neymar has been very much susceptible to injuries in recent times. The naturally gifted attacker has developed the knack of picking up niggles in time and time again. Neymar missed the crucial business half of the Champions League in both the seasons for PSG and as a result the Parisian giants were bowed out of the European stage early, on back to back occasions.
The PSG number 10 has missed a whooping number of 33 matches in total over the past two seasons in French domestic league due to injuries. After being involved in the most expensive transfer of all time in the summer of 2017, Neymar has only managed to make 58 appearances in across all competition in Europe for the Parisian giants.
In fact, Neymar has been very much vulnerable to managing injuries since his early Barcelona days. Various eyebrows were raised in Catalonia when Neymar first arrived in the summer of 2013 due to his skinny physic. However, strict diet helped Neymar to gain muscle weight so that he can withstand the physical nature of European football, but despite the diet Neymar did miss several games in Barcelona colors also. Not to mention, the career threatening injury which he suffered while playing for Brazil in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The former Barcelona superstar is now currently recovering from a knee injury, which he picked up in Brazil’s training camp for the upcoming Copa America campaign. Although, the words surrounding in the Brazil camp that he will be 100% fit before the tournament begins, but no one can deny the fact that he is very much injury prone.
#2 Attracting unwanted controversy:
From his Barcelona days to his recent PSG ones, controversies have always accompanied Neymar.
The 27-year-old flamboyant winger has gotten a lot of unsolicited attentions from the opponent defenders on the field, due to his excessive showboating character. Neymar likes to demonstrate every skill in his kitty, and sometimes by doing so, he gets kicked at by the opposition.
Another notable attribute of Neymar’s game is his play-acting. The 27-year-old forward has been denounced immensely for his play-acting skills by some sections of football pundits and the followers of the beautiful game. Neymar’s play-acting was at the pick of his prowess in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where the Brazil skipper spent a sum of 14 minutes on the floor.
Apart from his on-field behavior, Neymar’s off-field activities have also been questioned several times. The PSG talisman has received a three-match retrospective ban recently, after hitting a supporter after PSG's defeat to Rennes in the Coupe de France final. Moreover, Neymar will also miss first three matches of the Champions League next season, due to a three-match ban from UEFA for his harsh comments on Instagram about the referees after PSG were eliminated by Manchester United in the round of sixteen.
Apart from these recent ones, Neymar had to face a lot of sticks regarding his transfer to Barcelona in the summer of 2013 from Santos. He and his father were seriously alleged of corruption and both had to answer several questions from the Spanish jurisdiction.
#1 Tactical point of view:
Neymar’s profile doesn’t match exactly what Barcelona need right now. Nobody can question Neymar’s ability with the ball, but the Blaugrana need someone who can lead the line up front, more like an number 9, not a number 10, surely.
With an ageing spine of the team, Barcelona have to replace Suárez as soon as possible with a world class striker, not a player of Neymar’s profile. The Blaugranas need a player who can make those runs behind the defense, who can play on the shoulder of the last defender, someone like Mbappe.
In essence, the Blaugranas need an out-and-out goal scorer, who will guarantee them more than 20 goals a campaign.
If Barcelona manage to sign Neymar then it will cost the Catalan giants huge amount of money, plus Dembélé maybe, which in turn will block the road to sign a world-class striker, given the restrictions of European Fair Play rules taken into consideration.
