5 negative effects of Neymar's departure on Barcelona

Brazilian superstar, Neymar shocked the football world when he completed his move to the French club, Paris Saint Germain in a record transfer worth €222 million during the summer. The news came as a big surprise to many football fans around the world and dominated the headlines everywhere.

Barcelona fans could not believe what had happened; the team had lost one of it's best stars. The news was not well accepted in Spain, as it was greeted with mixed reactions with the Barcelona fans at the forefront.

The move resulted in various legal threats as Paris Saint Germain was continuously accused of breaking the Financial Fair Play Rules (FFP). In another corner, the angry Barca fans were busy tearing down anything in the name of Neymar along the Catalan road. Many felt Neymar was disloyal and decided to criticize the Brazilian in the media, comparing him to Portuguese legend, Luis Figo who also made a controversial switch away from the Catalan club.

The problems did not end there, as there were other adverse effects that came out as a result of that move. Therefore, let us look at 5 negative impacts of Neymar's move on Barcelona.

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#5 Crisis

Neymar's departure brought a lot of crisis in Barcelona

After Barcelona announced that Paris Saint Germain have paid the release clause in Neymar's contract, many things started going wrong at the Catalan club. The club was divided into two sections. One section felt Neymar has betrayed the club by leaving for PSG, while the other section put the blame on club president Maria Bartomeu, claiming that he did not do enough to prevent Neymar from departing.

Furthermore, there were lots of criticism flying over to the Barca board, as some people accused the board of incompetence. Former president Joan Laporta also used the privilege to condemn the board as he wrote on Twitter:

"Neymar's departure is further proof of the incompetence of this board,"

"Due to economic problems they need to sell him without notice."

Besides that, there was also a crisis in the squad as some players were rumoured to be unhappy with the way the Brazilian had left.

#4 Loss of compactness

Real Madrid humiliated Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana

It is true that the Brazilian was the best player in the club within the five months that preceded his departure. Evidently, it was Neymar that was the brightest player at Barca in those periods, as he helped the Blaugrana to make history by leading the team to overturn the biggest first-leg deficit in the history of the UEFA Champions League when they trashed PSG 6-1 at Camp Nou.

That implies that the Santos star left the Catalan club at a moment when the team heavily depended on him. In fact, if you observe the dying stages of the previous campaign, you will notice that the team was being built on Neymar and the workload was reducing for Lionel Messi.

Hence, Neymar's departure affected Barca's compactness as they failed to maintain their level. This was evident in the Supercopa de Espana where Real Madrid ran riot and humiliated a sluggish Barca side. Even the outspoken Gerard Pique also conceded that Barca played an inferior game. After the first leg of the clash in which Real Madrid defeated the Catalan giants 3-1 at the Camp Nou, the Barca defender was quoted as saying:

“This is a long process and there is room for improvement but in the nine years that I have been here, it is the first time that I feel inferior to Madrid,”

“We are not in the best moment, either as a team or as a club. We must stay as close as possible and keep moving forward.”

#3 Splitting of 'MSN'

The 'MSN 'trio was regarded as one of the greatest attacking trios in history

After Neymar made his switch from Brazilian club Santos to the Catalan club in 2013, all eyes were already on him. Although he did not make a big impact in his first season, the Brazilian came to the limelight in the following season, after he formed a formidable attacking trio with club legend Lionel Messi and Barcelona's new signing Luis Suarez.

They formed a deadly attacking partnership called 'The MSN' and took Europe by storm with fantastic attacking football. The dedication, passion, hunger, ambition and the colossal gel of friendship that these players shared helped to power Barcelona to glory, including a historic treble in 2015, scoring over 100 goals every season.

When Neymar decided to leave the club, however, the 'MSN' became split and the idea was not welcomed by many, who could not imagine seeing this current Barcelona side without the three famous magicians up front.

The implication of Neymar's action is that Barcelona can no longer boast of their attack as the best in the world, as his move unsettled the Blaugrana up front.

#2 Difficulty of finding a replacement

Ousmane Dembele was signed to replace Neymar

After the departure of Neymar was succeeded by crisis and the loss of the Spanish Super Cup to Real Madrid, Barcelona knew they were in bigger trouble. The poor performance of the team in the absence of Neymar required that Barcelona sign another world-class player to replace the Brazilian.

Therefore, the Spanish club entered the market desperately looking for a perfect replacement for the winger. This process was very difficult, as every team knew that the Blaugrana had mega money available from the Neymar deal. After some days, Barcelona announced the signing of Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembele for a fee around £105 million. The introduction of the French youngster served as a compensation for the sad Barca fans, who were disheartened by Neymar's decision.

Consequently, it appeared that Ousmane Dembele would be deployed on the right flank and therefore Neymar's position on the left was still left vacant. Thus, Barcelona went back searching and this time it was Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho that seemed to be the perfect man for the job. The Catalans wasted no time in making their intentions known as they started the pursuit immediately.

Barca finally signed Coutinho in the winter

The player also wanted to move to Catalonia and he made his intention clear to Liverpool by handing in a transfer request. Unfortunately, Liverpool rejected two initial bids from the Blaugrana.

Finally, though, the Spanish giants got hold of their man, but it was in the winter that the deal materialized.

# 1 Poor relationship between Barcelona and PSG

Barca and PSG's relationship became sour

While PSG might not have thought much about the consequences of their actions in the Neymar deal, it is reasonable to believe that the Catalan giants will not be very happy with the Ligue 1 outfit for what happened in the summer. The transfer was questioned by many people, with various individuals branding it as 'inhuman' and calling for the intervention of FIFA into the case.

Barcelona has also not been satisfied with the Paris club, as they reportedly opened legal proceedings against both the player and the club, demanding for a refund of the loyalty bonus of €8.5 million that was paid to the player, after he renewed his contract with the Catalan club.

Moreover, Paris Saint Germain have like-wise held grudges with the La Liga club and were rumored to have blocked a deal between the Catalans and club winger, Angel Di Maria. When asked about Barca's chances of signing Angel Di Maria during the transfer summer, Spanish football expert, Graham Hunter said:

“He is not the only one Barcelona’s list but they are trying with PSG,”

“Relationships between PSG and Barcelona are not good after the ram-raid they managed to conduct for the Neymar deal."

“It dates back to the 6-1 Champions League match and the proceedings on the night. There’s an ill-feeling between Barcelona and PSG."

“Therefore PSG are not making it easy for Di Maria to join. He is eager to but it’s odd."